Editing Andes (section)

== Human geography ==
Andean valleys and plateaus have supported permanent settlement for thousands of years. Communities built agricultural terraces to create level growing surfaces on steep slopes. Irrigation channels carried water from mountain streams to cultivated land. Different elevations allowed crops suited to separate temperature zones to be grown within the same region.

Organized states developed across the central Andes before European colonization.<ref name="south-america-early"/> The [[Inca Empire]] joined highland settlements through roads and administrative centres. Spanish rule spread through the Andean region during the 16th century and reorganized settlement around colonial towns or mining districts.<ref name="south-america-colonial"/>

Modern cities occupy high basins or valleys within the range. [[Bogotá]] stands on an elevated plateau in Colombia, while Quito lies between volcanic ranges in Ecuador. [[La Paz]] developed beside the Altiplano. [[Cusco]] occupies a valley in the Peruvian Andes, and [[Santiago]] lies west of the principal divide in central Chile.

Mountain passes connect Pacific ports with the continental interior. Roads and railways cross the range where terrain permits, although snowfall or landslides can interrupt higher routes. Rivers supplied by mountain snow provide water for settlements and irrigated agriculture. Their flow is also used for hydroelectric generation.

Mining is concentrated where uplift and erosion exposed ore deposits. Copper extraction dominates parts of the Chilean Andes. Silver and gold mining developed elsewhere in the range. Lithium production expanded around salt flats of the central highlands.