In the north the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Snowy Mountain Range of Saint Martha) is an isolated mountain range apart from the Andes chain that runs through Colombia. Reaching an altitude of 5,700 metres above sea level just 42 km from the Caribbean coast, the Sierra Nevada is the world's highest coastal range.
The western range of the eastern Cordillia Oriental is the only one which reaches Colombia .
The Andes range is about wide throughout its length, except in Bolivia where it is wide. The islands of the Dutch Caribbean Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, which lie in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela, represent the submerged tops of the northern edge of the Andes range.
The Andes are a Mesozoic–Tertiary orogenic belt of mountains along the Pacific Ring of Fire.
The Andes are the result of plate tectonics processes, caused by the subduction of oceanic crust beneath the South American continental plate. South America, like North America, has been moving west since the Cretaceous period.
The formation of the modern Andes began with the events of the Triassic and Jurassic when Pangea begun to break up and several rifts developed. It was during the Cretaceous period that the Andes began to take their present form, by the uplifting, faulting and folding of sedimentary and metamorphic rock of the ancient cratons to the east. The rise of the Andes has not been constant and different regions have had different degrees of tectonic stress, uplift, and weathering.
The climate in the Andes differs depending on which area, the altitude, and how close it is to the sea. The southern section is rainy and cool. The central Andes are dry. The northern Andes are normally rainy and warm, with an average temperature of in Colombia. The climate is known to change very much in rather short distances. Rainforests exist just miles away from the snow covered peak Cotopaxi. The mountains have a large effect on the temperatures of nearby areas. The snow line depends on the location. It is at between 4,500 and 4,800 m (14,800–15,800 ft) in the tropical Ecuadorian, Colombian, Venezuelan, and northern Peruvian Andes, going up to 4,800–5,200 m (15,800–17,060 ft) in the drier mountains of southern Peru south to northern Chile south to about 30°S, then going down to on Aconcagua at 32°S, at 40°S, at 50°S, and only in Tierra del Fuego at 55°S; from 50°S, many of the bigger glaciers go down to sea level.
The Andes of Chile and Argentina can be put in two climatic and glaciological zones; the Dry Andes and the Wet Andes.
Rainforests used to hold much of the northern Andes but are now reduced, especially in the Chocó and inter-Andean valleys of Colombia. Farming, deforestation, illegal crops, and population growth has done this.
A direct opposite of the humid Andean slopes are the mostly dry Andean slopes in most of western Peru, Chile and Argentina. That area, and many Interandean Valles, normally have deciduous woodland, shrub and xeric vegetation, up to the mostly lifeless Atacama Desert.
About 30,000 species of vascular plants live in the Andes. About half of those are endemic to the region: it is a hotspot. The small tree "Cinchona pubescens" is a source of quinine used to treat malaria. It is found widely in the Andes as far south as Bolivia. Other important crops that came from the Andes are tobacco and potatoes.
The high-altitude "Polylepis" forests and woodlands are found in the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile. These trees are called Queñua, Yagual and other names. They grow at altitudes of above sea level. It is still unclear if the patchy distribution of these forests and woodlands is natural, or the result of clearing which began during the Incan time. Regardless, in modern times the clearance has had a faster pace, and the trees are now highly endangered. Some think as little as 10% of the original woodland is still here.
The Andes has a lot of wildlife. With almost 1,000 species, of which about 2/3 are endemic to the region, the Andes is the most important region in the world for amphibians.
Animal diversity in the Andes is high, with almost 600 species of mammals (13% endemic), more than 1,700 species of birds (1/3 endemic), more than 600 species of reptiles (45% endemic), and almost 400 species of fish (1/3 endemic).
The Vicuña and Guanaco can be found living in the Altiplano, while the closely related domesticated Llama and Alpaca are commonly kept by locals as pack animals and for their meat and wool. The nocturnal chinchillas, two threatened members of the rodent order, live in the Andes' alpine regions. The Andean Condor, the largest bird of its kind in the Western Hemisphere, lives throughout much of the Andes but mostly in very low numbers. Other animals found in the mostly open habitats of the high Andes are the huemul, cougar, and foxes in the genus "Pseudalopex". And for birds, some species of tinamous (they are members of the genus "Nothoprocta"), are the Andean Goose, Giant Coot, flamingos (mainly associated with hypersaline lakes), Lesser Rhea, Andean Flicker, Diademed Sandpiper-plover, miners, sierra-finches and diuca-finches.
February 21
Meal
A meal is a serving of food eaten by human beings. Meals usually include several different types of food, such as grains, vegetables, fruit, and in some cases, meat. Meals have different names by time they are taken or by the type of food that is eaten.
In North America and in Europe, people usually eat three meals a day. The morning meal is called breakfast. It usually includes foods made from grain (cereal, porridge, or bread), fruit (apple, banana, or an orange), and milk products (milk, yogurt, or cottage cheese). Many people drink coffee or tea with their breakfast.
Around noon, people eat their lunch. People who are working at jobs are given a break to eat their lunch. The lunch meal includes foods such as a sandwich, soup, vegetables, fruit, and milk. In some countries, such as Italy, people serve an alcoholic drink with lunch. In England, some people have a glass of beer with their lunch.
In the evening, people eat their supper or dinner. Dinners are different in different countries. Usually dinners include a "main course" such as roast beef, a grain (such as rice or pasta), a vegetable (such as carrots or cauliflower) and a dessert (called a "sweet" or "pudding" in England).
In some cases, a starter or appetizer is served before the dinner. Appetizers are a small serving of food such as olives, cheese, or bread. In many countries, people serve an alcoholic drink with dinner, such as wine or beer.
Leipzig
Leipzig (Upper Saxon: "Leibzsch" or "Leibz'sch") is the biggest city in the state of Saxony (eastern Germany). When Germany was divided into East and West Germany, Leipzig was one of the three biggest industrial cities in the East Germany.
Leipzig occupies and is still an industrial city. 510,651 people are living in Leipzig as of 29 February 2008.
Its Latin name is "Lipsia" and the German name "Leipzig" came from this name. Leipzig has a long history. Its name was first recorded as Leipzig Castle (Leipziger Burg) in 1015, and the official founding of the city occurred later in 1165. It was an economic center of , famous with its market (Leipziger Messe).
In 1409, was started. Theology was its major faculty. In 1519, Martin Luther had a discussion in Leipzig against . Reformation came to Leipzig in 1539 and the city people became Lutheran.
It is famous for , where Johann Sebastian Bach worked as music director (Kantor) from 1723 until his death in 1750.
In 1813 near Leipzig, the Battle of Leipzig was fought between the French army led by Napoleon Bonaparte and the allied armies of Austria, Prussia and Russia.
In 1839, the railway between Dresden and Leipzig was opened. It was the first long distance railroad in Germany.