cordillera

Cordillera is a term used in geography and geology to describe a system or grouping of parallel or connected mountain ranges that form a continuous or related chain. The word comes from Spanish, meaning a ridge or belt of mountains. In practice, a cordillera can denote a major mountainous region or the chain itself, and it is often used to describe large regional belts along a continent.

A cordillera arises from long-term tectonic processes such as subduction, collision, and crustal shortening, which uplift and deform large tracts of crust. It may comprise various forms of mountains, including volcanic arcs, folded and faulted ranges, and high plateaus. The individual ranges within a cordillera are usually separated by valleys or basins but are geologically linked as part of the same tectonic belt. Many cordilleras host active or historic volcanism and diverse climates across elevations.

Examples include the North American Cordillera, which spans from Alaska to Mexico and includes the Pacific Coast Ranges, Sierra Nevada, Cascades, and the Rocky Mountains as components of the belt; and the Andean Cordillera, running along the western edge of South America and formed by the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate. In other regions, such as Colombia and the Dominican Republic, cordilleras appear as named sub-belts like the Cordillera Central and Cordillera Oriental.

Usage: The term is common in Spanish-language geography and in scientific literature to describe continental-scale mountain systems, distinct from a single mountain range.