A long chain or system of mountains, especially the high mountain ranges of North and South America.
From Spanish 'cordillera,' a diminutive of 'cuerda' (rope, cord), literally meaning 'small rope'—a poetic term for how mountain ranges look like rope-like formations from a distance.
The Andes is the world's longest cordillera, stretching 4,350 miles—and the Spanish term 'small rope' is genius because mountain ranges really do look like twisted cords when viewed from space!
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