mountain chain
1
2.9
- noun
- /ˈmaʊntən tʃeɪn/
:
cordillera
- The Andes is the longest mountain chain in the world, running along the western edge of South America.
- the Andean mountain chain
- mountain chain that runs
- mountain chains that form
Examples
-
They winter along the Andes mountain chain from Venezuela to northwestern Bolivia, where they feed on invertebrates and nectar.
Academic text (2010) -
In the 1890s, Norwegian anthropologist Carl Lumholtz set out to explore the Sierra Madre Occidental, a mountain chain that runs from Arizona to central Mexico.
Academic text (2000) -
Taken together with the rivers, lakes, and mountain chains, they comprise a lovely homeland.
Fiction book (2002) -
Similar difficulties can be envisioned for sites separated by mountain chains, major rivers, etc.
Blog text (22) -
And I had to fly across the Andes—that's a mountain chain in South America?
Fiction book (1991) -
At each glacial maximum, the cold, dry, windy climates eliminated continuous forest cover north of the mountain chain.
Academic text (1996) -
The debate as to whether the Andean mountain chain ends in western or eastern Venezuela is still contentious among geologists.
Academic text (1996) -
The Udege are the original inhabitants along the Bikin River and its tributaries on both sides of the Sikhore Alin mountain chain.
Fiction book (1996) -
The Venezuelan Andes, the northernmost extension of the Andean mountain chain, illustrate an evolving regional imagination.
Academic text (1996) -
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain chain that extends through western North America.
Synonyms
71
2.5
A connected line of hills or mountains
20
1.8
A long line of connected mountains that forms a high area
15
7.0
A line of connected hills or mountains
1
2.3
A long line of high land with many peaks joined together
1
3.0
A line of connected mountains or hills
1
7.9
A long group of connected mountain ranges, like the Andes in South America
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning ‘a series of mountains’ is directly and compositionally derived from combining 'mountain' (a high natural landform) with 'chain' (a linked series). This noun-noun construction is cross-linguistically common (e.g. Spanish 'cadena montañosa', French 'chaîne de montagnes') and therefore readily understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
The noun mountain chain comes from the image of many mountains linked together like a chain, forming a long row of high land. So, it means 'a series of mountains joined together'.