cordilleran

Cordilleran is an adjective meaning related to a cordillera, a chain or belt of mountains. The term is used in geography, geology, anthropology, and linguistics to describe things connected with specific mountain systems or the peoples and languages associated with them. Because cordilleras occur in several regions, the meaning of Cordilleran is context dependent.

In geology and physical geography, Cordilleran commonly refers to the Cordilleran belt of western North America, a vast system of mountain ranges along the Pacific margin. This cordillera formed over hundreds of millions of years through subduction, accretion of terranes, and uplift, producing features from Alaska to the southwestern United States and into Mexico. The term often appears in discussions of the Cordilleran orogeny and related tectonic processes that shaped the western North American margin.

In the Philippines, Cordilleran refers to the Cordillera Administrative Region in northern Luzon, a highland area known for its rugged terrain, diverse indigenous communities, and rice terrace agriculture. Cordilleran peoples, including groups such as the Ifugao, Bontoc, Kalinga, and others, have distinct cultures and languages that are part of the broader Northern Luzon linguistic grouping.

In Colombia and other Spanish-speaking regions, cordilleras are major Andean mountain chains, such as the Cordillera Central, Occidental, and Oriental. English-language usage may describe things from these ranges as Cordilleran, though the term is less common in local discourse.

See also: Cordillera, Cordilleras, Cordilleran languages.