What makes the Rocky Mountains a cordillera?

A cordillera is the Spanish name for an extensive mountain range or system of ranges. The western cordillera is in North America and includes the Sierra Nevada, the Coastal and Cascade ranges, and the rocky mountains

The North American Cordillera covers an extensive area ofmountain ranges, intermontane basins, and plateaus in western North America, including much of the territory west of the Great Plains. It is also sometimes called the Western Cordillera, the Western Cordillera of North America, or the Pacific Cordillera.