evidence: The Andes mountain range, where you'll find Cerro Pachón (the mountain Rubin Observatory sits on) is the longest above-water mountain range in the world and the second-highest only after the Himalayas in Asia. The Andes are also highly volcanic! However, the stretch where Cerro Pachón is located doesn’t have any volcanoes at all. Geologists believe that’s because the Pacific tectonic plate slides under the South American plate there at an angle that is too shallow to cause volcanoes. Regardless, the lack of volcanoes means Cerro Pachón and the surrounding mountains are great places for observing the night sky with their high peaks and dry air. [...] Cerro Pachón is also home to many different plant and animal species that have adapted to survive in the high, dry desert climate. Cacti, shrubs, and wildflowers frequent the landscape. Sometimes foxes roam the hillsides or Andean condors swoop overhead, and viscachas (adorable rodents that look like a squirrel-rabbit hybrid) regularly join our scientists for sunset shows. Because it has a desert climate, Cerro Pachón also hosts familiar desert species like lizards, snakes, spiders, scorpions, and a whole bunch of insects.