San Juan Mountains
- proper noun
- /sæn wɑn ˈmaʊntənz/
:
Montañas de San Juan
- Geologists study the rich mineral deposits found throughout the San Juan Mountains.
- the San Juan Mountains of Colorado
Examples
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The San Juan Mountains are known for their dramatic peaks and beautiful hiking trails.
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The San Juan Mountains are known for their stunning landscapes, making them a popular spot for photographers.
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In the winter, skiers flock to the resorts nestled in the San Juan Mountains.
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The San Juan Mountains are known for their stunning vistas.
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Have you ever visited the San Juan Mountains?
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Many hikers visit the San Juan Mountains every summer to enjoy the breathtaking scenery and challenging trails.
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In the winter, the San Juan Mountains offer excellent skiing opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts.
Surface Forms
Morphology
San + Juan + mountain
This is a straightforward place-name construction: even if a learner doesn't know the Spanish elements 'San'/'Juan', they will recognize them as a proper name and 'mountains' clearly indicates a mountain range. The meaning 'the mountains called San Juan' is compositional and follows common cross-linguistic toponym + noun patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will understand it refers to a mountain range (though not necessarily its specific location).
Etymology
San Juan Mountains comes from Spanish explorers who named San Juan for the saint 'Saint John' and used Mountains to describe the high peaks. So the name tells us this mountain area has a Spanish past and is a range of tall mountains.
