The Andes Mountains run along the western edge of which continent?

The Andes Mountains run along the western edge of South America.

Stretching roughly 7,000 kilometers from Venezuela and Colombia in the north to Chile and Argentina in the south, the Andes form the longest continental mountain system on Earth. They cross seven countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.

The range exists because the Nazca Plate and parts of the Antarctic Plate are forced beneath the South American Plate. That subduction drives mountain building, earthquakes, and volcanic activity along the Pacific side of the continent. The Andes also include high plateaus such as the Altiplano.

A common mix-up is confusing the Andes with the American Cordillera, the much larger chain that continues through North and Central America. The Andes are its South American section. Their highest summit is Aconcagua in Argentina, rising to about 6,961 meters.