The world's longest mountain range is the Andes in South America
Mountain ranges refer to a chain or group of mountains in the same locality or located close together. Unlike neighbouring mountains, mountain ranges have similar age, size, form, and the same geological origins. Mountain ranges are formed when parts of the earth’s crust known as plates collide in a process known as plate tectonics and bulge up more like the hood of a car involved in a head-on collision accident. The Himalaya mountain ranges, for instance, were formed in such a process about 55 million years ago, and 30 of the highest mountains in the world are found in the Himalaya Mountain ranges. Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, rises to 29,035 feet tall. However, the tallest mountain measure from the bottom to the top is an inactive volcano, Mount Kea on the island of Hawaii. From the base to the summit, mount Mauna Kea stands at 33,474 feet tall, although only 13,796 feet is above the sea level.
10. Mid-ocean Ridge - 40,389 km
The Mid-ocean ridge is a mountain range found under the sea and it is the longest covering a distance of 25,097 miles. The ranges were formed when the seafloor plates move away from each other as the magma rises and overflow. The drifting of the plates is attributed to volcanic eruptions taking under the sea. As the ocean floor moves away from each other, new floors are made and this increases the height of the ocean. The Mid-ocean ridges of all of the world’s oceans are connected. This makes the mid-ocean ridge the longest mountain range.
9. Andes - 7,000 km
Sunrise view of the Argentinian Andes from Mt. Aconcagua.
Sunrise view of the Argentinian Andes from Mt. Aconcagua.
The Andes is the world’s longest mountain range on land covering a distance of 4,300 miles with an average width of 124 miles. The highest point of the range is Aconcagua and is 22,841 feet high. The Andes is found in the West coast of South America and they pass through seven countries. The countries are Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. The Andes is divided into three climatic regions of the dry, tropical, and wet Andes. The biggest cities in the Andes are Bogota, Medellin, and Santiago de Chile. Cotton, coffee and tobacco are farmed in the Andes for export. Despite Coca being banned in other countries the people of the Andes still plant it for local use. The Andes of Chile and Peru contain copper mines with Peru also containing the largest goldmine in the world. The highest peaks of the Andes include Aconcagua, Cerro Bonete, Galan, Mercedario, and Pissis. The highest volcanoes in the world are in the Andes, and they are Ojos del Salado found on the border between Argentina and Chile, rising to 22,615 feet.