The Cordilleras have one major factor that distinguishes them from the other mountain ranges, the three phases of its orogeny. Unlike most of the mountains in the world that have been created by a single orogenic process, that is not the case with the Cordilleras. There have been three consecutive orogenies, the Nevadan, Sevier, and Laramide orogenic process that created the Cordilleras, thus making them a unique mountain range.
