18:01 Jul 31, 2009 

Alejandro, I think you intuited this with your "simple guess" at 16.40. Well done!

17:54 Jul 31, 2009 

En este glosario vienen los dos significados en inglés que parece tener: "hill", "mountain peak".
http://www.infohub.com/destinations/south-america/Argentina/...

17:48 Jul 31, 2009 

Another cases that do not match the DRAE definition are Chilean and Argentinian maps. Peaks -including the Andes- are named 'Co.' or 'C.' (and 'Vn.' when they are volcanos).

16:52 Jul 31, 2009 

Raúl, you are right about the Aconcagua. However, I think this is "la excepción que confirma la regla".
Regards/Saludos

16:43 Jul 31, 2009 

It's true that DRAE defines 'cerro' as an elevation that is lower than a mountain.
But it's also true that we say 'cerro Aconcagua' (133 000 references on Yahoo!). In this case, plain language does not match the DRAE definition.
Nevertheless, the elevations around Valparaíso are 'hills'.

16:32 Jul 31, 2009 

Silvia, the highest peaks in the Andes are not called "cerros". They are called "montañas". A generic term also used for the Andes is "cordillera" which I believe means "mountain chain". "Cerro" is definitely a relatively low hill. Hope this helps.

15:40 Jul 31, 2009 

Probably because you view it, not from the base of the mountain, but from somewhere up in the moutains. Simple guess. The truth is I don't know for certain.

14:59 Jul 31, 2009 

Berelis, I agree with you and Alejandro about the dictionary definition. But can somebody please explain to me why the highest peaks in the Andes are called "cerros"?

13:19 Jul 31, 2009 

You are absolutely right, Alejandro. Mountain is something much higher than "cerro" (hill)

08:36 Jul 31, 2009 

Concerning Silvia's comment that "cerros are not hills", I disagree.
"cerro" = "hill", not always or necessarily "mountain"
DRAE, cerro: Elevación de tierra aislada y de menor altura que el monte o la montaña.
OED, hill: A natural elevation of the earth's surface rising more or less steeply above the level of the surrounding land. Formerly the general term, including what are now called mountains; after the introduction of the latter word, gradually restricted to heights of less elevation.
But this semantic restriction is not absolute and, in fact, "montaña" and "monte" often correspond to "hill".
Examples:
Cerro San Cristóbal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
24 May 2009 ... Cerro San Cristóbal is a hill in northern Santiago, Chile. It rises 880 m AMSL and about 300 m above the rest of Santiago; the peak is the ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerro_San_Cristóbal

Flickr: skyfenix's Photostream
Hill view. Clouds view by skyfenix. from a hill in Aguascalientes Mexico --- desde un cerro en Aguascalientes, Mexico. Anyone can see this photo ...>www.flickr.com/photos/susyinthesky/