The Andes mountain range is not only the most important in South America but also the longest of the world. It has about 8,850 km of long and runs parallel to the Pacific from the end south to the northern tipof the subcontinent in its western side. The highest peak of the Andes, and the highest outside of Asia, is Aconcagua (6,962 meters) on the border between Argentina and Chile.
Within the plateaus, the Altiplano of Peru and Bolivia stands out with an altitude of around 3,700 meters. Also, the inter-Andean valleys of Ecuador are between 2,500 and 3,500 meters. The Patagonia region of Argentina and Chile consists of steep, lower elevation plateaus and glaciers. Outside the Andes, the two main high altitude zones are in Brazil and Guyana. Located south of the Amazon River, the Brazilian Planalto is made up of low mountains and plateaus that rise to an average altitude of 1,006 m. The Guiana massif extends between the Amazon and Orinoco rivers. With its dense arboreal vegetation, this plateau occupies southern Venezuela, French Guiana, Guyana, northern Brazil andpart of southeastern Colombia.