Sierra Madre Occidental Sierra Madre Occidental The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through Northwestern and Western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that form the western "backbone" of North America, Central America, South America and Antarctica. The Spanish name "sierra madre" means "mother mountains" and "occidental" means "western" in English, with these being the "Western Mother Mountains". To the east, from the Spanish "oriental" meaning
Mountain ranges of Norway print in English. Mountain ranges of Norway The geography of Norway is dominated by vast mountain ranges broken up by valleys and fjords. Less than 10% of the country's area is arable, and the rest is mountainous. Glaciers are the major cause for erosion, so the terrain in the Norwegian mountains consists of plateaus and lakes with peaks. These areas have an abundant and diverse fauna and flora. The altitude of the treeline comes slowly down going to higher latitudes; in northern Finnmark, the treeline reaches sea level. The treeline is also lower near the coast, and higher on the