Mogote Explained

A mogote ^[1] is a generally isolated, steep-sided residual hill in the tropics composed of either limestone, marble, or dolomite. Mogotes are surrounded by nearly flat alluvial plains. The hills typically have a rounded, tower-like form.

Overview

This term is used for hills, isolated or linked, with very steep, almost vertical, walls, surrounded by alluvial plains in the tropics, regardless of whether the carbonate strata in which they have formed are folded or not.^{[2] [3]}

Mogotes are common in tropical and subtropical karst areas around the world, specifically in southern China, the Southeast Asian countries of Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam; as well as the Caribbean, especially in Cuba and Puerto Rico. Los Haitises National Park in the Dominican Republic is another karst area that contains mogotes.^[4]

The word mogote comes from the Basque word 'mokoti' meaning "sharp-pointed" (moko' meaning "mountain peak").^[5] In Puerto Rico, several mogotes along a ridge are called pepinos.^[6]

See also

• Bornhardt
• Butte
• Inselberg
• Tepui
• Tower karst

Areas

• Chocolate Hills, Philippines
• Hin Namno, Laos
• Kinta Valley, Malaysia
• Krabi Province, Thailand
• Los Haitises, Dominican Republic
• Northern Karst Region, Puerto Rico
• Phong Nha-Ke Bang, Vietnam
• South China Karst, China
• Viñales Valley, Cuba

Further reading

• Day . M.J. . March 1978 . Morphology and distribution of residual limestone hills (mogotes) in the karst of northern Puerto Rico . Geological Society of America Bulletin . 89 . 3 . 426–32 . 10.1130/0016-7606(1978)89<426:madorl>2.0.co;2. 1978GSAB...89..426D .

Notes and References

1. Web site: mogote - Definition of mogote in English by Oxford Dictionaries. https://web.archive.org/web/20171201043812/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/mogote. dead. December 1, 2017. Oxford Dictionaries - English.
2. Neuendorf, K. K. E., J. P. Mehl, Jr., and J. A. Jackson, 2005, Glossary of Geology, 5th ed. American Geological Institute, Alexandria, Virginia. 779 p.
3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2002, A Lexicon of Cave and Karst Terminology with Special Reference to Environmental Karst Hydrology (2002 Edition). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Center for Environmental Assessment, Washington Office, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/R-02/003. 221 p.
4. Effects of land use history on hurricane damage and recovery in a neotropical forest . M. . Uriarte . L.W. . Rivera . J.K. . Zimmerman . T.M. . Aide . A.G. . Power . A.S. . Flecker . Plant Ecology . 2004 . 174 . 1 . 49–58 . 10.1023/B:VEGE.0000046058.00019.d9. 2004PlEco.174...49U . 14918767 .
5. Web site: ASALE. RAE-. RAE. mogote Diccionario de la lengua española. 2021-09-19. «Diccionario de la lengua española» - Edición del Tricentenario. es.
6. BALGHIN. W. G. V.. COLEMAN. A.. 5 March 1965. Puerto Rico. Geography. 50. 3. 274–286. 40567047.