Geography
The rugged topography of the Central Andes creates the warm dry valleys that typifies the valles. Generally lying between 1,200 and 3,500 meters above sea level (m.a.s.l.) or 4,000 - 13,000 feet above sea level. Much of the area features steep hillsides and deep canyons, including the world's deepest canyon, the Colca Canyon.
Most of the major cities and towns of the valles are found in broader, open valleys with expansive flat land created by ancient lakes or floodplains that is more amenable to agriculture than the highly erodible slopes.
To the south and west, are the harsh, frigid deserts, salt flats and alpine graslands of the altiplano. To the north and east are the lush, wet, dense cloud forests or "yungas" of the front-range, downslope, and foothills of the Andes. Higher ridges, peaks, and plateaus, dominated by high-elevation alpine puna grasslands, Polylepis woodlands, or snow-capped peaks separate the valles from both of these ecoregions.
Read more about this topic: Interandean Valles
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