The Andes of South America stretch from 11◦N in Venezuela and Colombia to 55◦S in Tierra del Fuego along the western margin of the continent, forming an almost continuous ~8,000 km long mountain range. More so, the maximum elevations of all South American countries through which the Andes extend all surpass 5000 m a.s.l. Due to their unique topography, the Andes interact strongly with large-scale atmospheric circulation, creating an exceptional variety of environmental conditions and hydroclimatic regimes. An equally diverse cryosphere sits on this assorted landscape, including a vast snow cover, mountain glaciers and ice caps, rock glaciers and mountain permafrost.
Falaschi et al. (Wed,) studied this question.