Cordillera Mérida

a mountain range in the Andes, in western Venezuela; the northeastern branch of the Cordillera Oriental of Colombia. It is about 400 km long and rises to 5,007 m at Bolívar Peak. The Cordillera Mérida is composed of granites, gneisses, sandstones and clay shales from the Precambrian and Paleozoic. It is deeply carved by canyons and alpine relief forms are characteristic in the central areas. The northern wind-ward slopes are covered with mountain rain forests and the dryer southern and interior valleys with xerophytic shrubs and mixed (deciduous-evergreen) forests. A high-altitude steppe and parámos are found at elevations above 2,800 m, and above 4,600 m there are perennial snows.