Cordilleran

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to or characteristic of a major mountain range or system of ranges connected in a chain, especially those found in the Americas; pertaining to geographical regions dominated by such extensive mountainous terrain; associated with the physical or cultural aspects of these mountainous chains
2. Connected to or describing a vast series of mountain ranges forming a continuous belt across large areas, often used to refer to the western mountain systems of North and South America; involving features typical of these elevated regions; linked to the ecosystems or landscapes shaped by such terrain
3. Concerning or derived from extensive contiguous mountain systems, notably those that stretch over great distances in a linear formation; related to the environmental or geological phenomena typical of these mountain chains; identified with the regions and natural conditions characterizing such mountainous areas

Etymology: Cordilleran comes from "cordillera," the Spanish word for a mountain chain, with the suffix "-an" attached to make it an adjective. The Spanish noun itself grew from "cuerda," meaning rope or cord, so a range of peaks was first pictured as a long twisted line running across the land. The word reached English as a technical term for the great ranges of western North America, such as the Rockies and the Andean-style chains that run the length of the continent's western edge. Geographers and geologists use it to describe the structures, rocks and climates of those mountains, as in the "Cordilleran orogeny," the mountain-building episode that raised them.

Synonyms: mountainous, Andean, alpine

Antonyms: flat, lowland