Saw

We explain what a mountain range is, its characteristics, differences from mountain ranges and examples of mountain ranges around the world.

What is a saw?

A mountain range or mountain range It is a group of mountains whose summits have a broken or serrated appearance (hence its name, due to its similarity to the instrument), and which are part of another larger group of mountains, like a mountain range.

The mountains are usually longer than tall. They can extend for hundreds of kilometers, giving rise at the same time to massifs and other types of orographic formations.

The word “saw” comes from Latin serraand in some countries it usually gives rise to derivatives, such as “serranía”, sometimes used for larger mountain ranges, or “serrezuela” for smaller ones. Likewise, individuals who live in the mountains are often called “serranos”.

See also: Animals of the mountains

Sierra and mountain range

Mountain ranges are mountain ranges that are much more complex than mountain ranges to the point that the latter are usually always inserted in a mountain range. However, there are notable structural differences between the two: the mountain ranges tend to be longer and narrower, also reaching lower heights and, therefore, having less geographical importance.

In fact, the valleys that can be found in a mountain range tend to be much smaller than those in an ordinary mountain range. For its part, mountain ranges, on the other hand, can reach enormous heights extend for thousands of kilometers and constitute formations much more imposing than the mountains.

Continue in: Mountain range

Examples of saws

The main mountain ranges and mountain ranges in the world are:

• The Eastern Sierra Madre Approximately 1,350 kilometers long and oriented in a northwest-southwest direction, it is located in Mexican territory from the Rio Grande to the neovolcanic axis, crossing the states of Coahuila, Nueva León, Tamaulipas, Texas, San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo, Puebla, Querétaro , Tlaxcala and Veracruz.
• The Western Sierra Madre Another Mexican mountain range, which covers the entire west of its territory and ascends towards the United States, is 1,500 kilometers long and an average width of 150 km, crossing the territory of the states of Arizona, Chihuahua, Sonora, Sinaloa, Durango , Aguascalientes, Zacatecas, Jalisco, Nayarit and then joining the Mexican Transversal Volcanic Axis.
• The Sierra Madre del Sur Stretching over 1,200 kilometers, the southern Mexican mountain range is located between the states of Jalisco and Oaxaca, running parallel to the Pacific Ocean and the Neovolcanic Axis. It has an average altitude of 2,000 meters above sea level and is a place of enormous biodiversity.
• The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Located in the north of Colombia, in an isolated system of the Andes, this mountain range rises from the Caribbean Sea to reach heights close to 5,700 meters above sea level, its highest point being Pico Cristóbal Colón. It is the highest coastal mountain system in the world.
• The Sierra Nevada of Mérida Located between the states of Mérida and Barinas, in western Venezuela, it is part of the National Park of the same name, founded in 1952. It has important heights, such as Pico Bolívar, Pico Humboldt and Pico Bonpland, the highest in the country, and until 2018 it had important glacial reserves (around 10 km²) at its summits, but global warming has reduced them to less than 0.1 km² currently.
• The Sierra Morena Located in the South of Spain and reaching 400 km in length, it constitutes a natural geographical border between Andalusia and Castile, and has an important presence in local culture, as the setting for some chapters of Miguel de Cervantes' famous novel, Don Quixote. of La Mancha.
• The Sierras of Córdoba Located in the Argentine province of Córdoba, on the border with the province of San Luis, in the center of the nation, they are mountain formations of medium height, whose highest peak reaches 2,884 meters above sea level (Cerro Champaquí). They are an important tourist spot in the region and constitute the southern end of the Sierras Pampeanas.
• The Pampean Mountains With an approximate area of ​​300,000 km² in the northwest of the Argentine nation, it includes a set of mountain ranges, plateaus and peninsulas that cross almost seven provinces: Tucumán, Catamarca, La Rioja, Santiago del Estero, San Juan, Córdoba and San Luis. Its maximum height corresponds to Cerro General Belgrano, which is at 6,250 meters above sea level.

Continue with: Plateau

References

• “Sierra” on Wikipedia.
• “Sierra” in the Dictionary of the Language of the Royal Spanish Academy.
• “Sierra” in Glossary of geographical terms of the Library of National Congress (Chile).
• “Serranía” in Montipedia.