sky island n. an isolated ecosystem occurring at a high altitude, such as on a mountain top, which shows evolutionary tendencies similar to those occurring on islands surrounded by water. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
sky island n.— «As breezes from the Gulf of Mexico lift over the Chiricahua Mountains, an exceptional amount of rain falls on this desert region, which has bee aptly called a “sky island.” The volcanic soil among the rock and...
sky island n.— «From a parched sea of desert in southeastern Arizona, Mt. Graham rises 2 miles to a crested summit above the clouds. Isolated in time and space for 11,000 years, the mountain is what biologists call a sky island, “a...
sky island n.— «It’s a difficult bird to study because it’s distributed across a fragmented range of mountaintops which we sometimes refer to as “sky islands.”» —“Researchers work to ensure survival of a rare...