West-central Argentina: Aconcagua, highest point in South America at 6,960 m, is the snowy peak at left of this view. Once believed to be a volcano -- it is capped with a lava flow -- Aconcagua is now known to be a great basement-cored block that has been thrusted up to its present elevation. Mts. Amarillo, Mercedario and Ansilta are volcanic peaks lying to the north. A few of the narrow Precordillera ranges can be seen in the foreground

Photo and caption thanks to:
Earth Sciences and Image Analysis, NASA-Johnson Space Center. 30 Apr. 2003. "Astronaut Photography of Earth - Display Record." http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=STS109&roll=405&frame=15.

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South America from Space Photo Gallery

South America Photo Gallery