Tropical Andes

Tropical Andes
Bolivian tropical Andean foothills, Coroico
Highest point
Peak	Huascarán
Elevation	6,768 m (22,205 ft)
Dimensions
Length	3,300 km (2,100 mi)
Geography
Country	Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia
Parent range	Andes

The Tropical Andes are the northern of the three climate-delineated parts of the Andes, the others being the Dry Andes and the Wet Andes. The Tropical Andes' area spans 1,542,644 km² (595,618 sq mi).

The Tropical Andes are located in South America following the path of the Andes. They run, mainly, through five countries, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. The land initially was roughly 1,258,000 km² (486,000 sq mi) but has decreased to 314,500 km² (121,400 sq mi), leaving 25% of the original land. Due to the massive amount of area the landscape is diverse. Diverse landscapes lead to diverse habitats and the ability to provide needed resources for many species. The diverse landscape includes snow-topped mountains down to canyons and valleys. The different vegetation as altitude changes includes tropical rainforests at 500 to 1,500 meters (1,600–4,900 ft), cloud forests ranging from 800 to 3,500 meters (2,600–11,500 ft), and the highest altitudes of 3,000 to 4,800 meters (9,800–15,700 ft) contain grasslands up to snow. The most diverse cloud forests found in Peru and Bolivia covers 500,000 km² (190,000 sq mi). Dry forests and woodlands are also found throughout the Tropical Andes. The range is also home to the deepest gorge in Peru at 3,223 meters (10,574 ft) deep and Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable water with an altitude of 3,810 meters (12,500 ft).

The Tropical Andes are a biodiversity hotspot named the "global epicenter of biodiversity" according to the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund.

The Tropical Andes are an area of rich biodiversity. This location contains about 45,000 plant species of which 20,000 are endemic. There are over 3,000 vertebrate species with about 1,500 endemic. Besides plants and vertebrates, 1,666 bird species, 479 reptile species, and 830 amphibian species reside in the Tropical Andes. All hotspots are important for conservation biology, but especially the tropical Andes with so many endemic species. The biodiversity within the Tropical Andes is dwindling down in numbers due to threats.