Jimmy Cook, age 10, of Weaverville, North Carolina, for his question:

Which is the highest mountain in South America?

The highest mountains of the New World are the lofty Andes which form a sharp ridge along the western side of South America. Here we find the highest peak in all of South America. It is Mount Aconcagua and it stands in Argentina not far from the border of Chile. The proud peak is 22,834 feet above the level of the Pacific Ocean and its lofty shoulders are always draped in thick, snowy white glaciers.

Aconcagua is also the highest peak in all of the western world. Geologists tell us that it once was about 1,000 feet higher than it is today. The great peak is the cone of an extinct volcano and such cones usually have a crater through which lava once erupted to the surface from vents deep underground. In the geological past, the top of Aconcagua collapsed,` filling up the crater and removing about 1,000 feet from the summit of the peak.