Glaciers in South America develop exclusively on the Andes and are subject to the Andes various climatic regimes namely the Tropical Andes, Dry Andes and the Wet Andes. Apart from this there is a wide range of altitudes on which glaciers develop from 5000 m in the Altiplano mountains and volcanoes to reaching sealevel as tidewater glaciers from San Rafael Lagoon (45° S) and southwards. South America hosts two large ice fields, the Northern and Southern Patagonian Ice Fields, of which the second is the largest contiguous body of glaciers in extrapolar regions. By surface about 80% of South America's glaciers lie in Chile.
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| Tropical Andes (11° N–20° S) |
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| Dry Andes (20°–35° S) |
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| Wet Andes (35°–55° S) |
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Note: Glaciers are ordered by latitude from north to south. Mountains with significant glaciers are shown in italics. | |||||||||
