Jim Scherer, age 11, of Media, Penna, for his question:

How long are the Andes?

The lofty Andes stretch from the northern shores of South America way down to the southern tip ‑ from the shores of the Caribbean to Cape Morn. South America stretches from Latitude 10 North of the equator to more than 50 degrees South of the equator. In a straight line this distance is about 4600 miles and the Andes follow its western shoreline all the way.

The sub‑continent of South America, however, bulges like a turnip and a bulge is always longer than a straight line. The wide top of the turnip straddles the equator and its tapering roots dip down to the stormy seas around Tierra del Fuego. The Andes, which follow the bulge and tapering roots, are roughly 5,000 miles long.