\Cor*dil"ler*a\ (k?r-d?l"l?r-?; Sp. k?r`d?-ly?"r?),
n. [Sp., fr. OSp. cordilla, cordiella, dim. of cuerda a rope,
string. See {Cord}.] (Geol.)
A mountain ridge or chain.
Note: Cordillera is sometimes applied, in geology, to the
      system of mountain chains near the border of a
      continent; thus, the western cordillera of North
      America in the United States includes the Rocky
      Mountains, Sierra Nevada, Coast and Cascade ranges.