Aconcagua Peak

　　Aconcagua Peak (Aconcagua), with an elevation of 6,964 meters, is the highest peak in South America. It lies at 32.39 degrees south latitude and 70.14 degrees west longitude, within the southern section of the Andes mountain range of the Cordillera system, in the northwestern part of Mendoza Province at the border between Argentina and Chile. Formed by the orogeny of the Andes Mountains, it was named Aconcagua due to the color Arauca (also called Aconca, written as Ackon Cahuak in Quechua).

　　Aconcagua Peak is also the highest extinct volcano on Earth. In 1897, humans first climbed Aconcagua Peak, and investigations confirmed that it is composed of volcanic rock. The mountain has a conical shape with a sunken crater at the summit, making it a typical volcano. After reviewing records of volcanic eruptions in the region, there is no evidence of any eruptions since human presence, thus it is recognized worldwide as the highest extinct volcano.

　　The Cordillera mountain system is the longest fold mountain range in the world. It belongs to one of the two major mountain system belts of the world—the “Pacific Ring of Fire mountain belt.” Stretching from Alaska in the United States along the western coasts of North and South America all the way to Tierra del Fuego in Argentina, it spans 15,000 kilometers from north to south. This mountain system consists of the coastal ranges, Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, Sierra Madre, and the Andes in South America. Its natural environment is complex and diverse, encompassing nearly all of the Earth’s climate-biome zones, forming a variety of distinct vertical zone structures.

　　The Andes Mountains are the longest mountain range in the world, located along the western edge of the South American continent. Stretching 9,000 kilometers in length, they are nearly three and a half times the length of the Himalayas. The range is made up of a series of parallel mountain chains and transverse mountain masses, interspersed with plateaus and valleys. This mountain range is both high and steep, with an average elevation of 3,900 meters and over 50 peaks exceeding 6,000 meters in height. Among them is Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere, standing at 6,964 meters.