Everything about Cantabrian Mountains totally explained
| etymology=
Cantabria|etymology_type=Named for
| image=SotresPanorama.jpg
| image_caption=The Picos de Europa overlooking the village of Sotres, in Cabrales
| country=Spain
| unit=
| geology= limestone
| period= | period1 =
| orogeny= |border=
Pyrenees
|border1=
Galicia
| area= | length=300 | length_orientation=WE
| width=50 | width_orientation=NS
| highest=Torre de Cerredo
| highest_elevation=2648
| highest_lat_d=43|highest_lat_m=11|highest_lat_s=51|highest_lat_NS=N
| highest_long_d=04|highest_long_m=51|highest_long_s=06|highest_long_EW=W
| map=Cordillera Cantabrica.jpg| map_caption=The red line shows where the Cantabrian Mountains are located in the North of Spain
| region=Iberian Peninsula
| parent=
}}
Cantabrian Mountains (
Cordillera Cantábrica in
Spanish) is a
mountain chain which extends for more than approximately 180
miles (300
km) across northern
Spain, from the western limit of the
Pyrenees (
Basque mountains) to the borders of
Galicia, and on or near the coast of the
Cantabrian Sea. The Cantabrian Mountains offer a wide range of trails for
hiking, as well as many challenging
climbing routes.
Skiing is possible in the
ski resorts of
Alto Campoo,
Valgrande-Pajares and
Manzaneda.
Geography
The Cantabrian Mountains stretch east-west, nearly parallel to the sea, as far as the pass of
Leitariegos, also extending south between
León and Galicia. The range's western boundary is marked by the valley of the river
Miño (
Portuguese:
Minho), by the lower
Sil, which flows into the Miño, and by the
Cabrera River, a small tributary of the Sil.
Some
geographers regard the mountains of Galicia beyond the Miño as an integral part of the same system; others confine the name to the eastern half of the
highlands between Galicia and the Pyrenees, and call their western half the
Asturian Mountains. There are also many local names for the subsidiary ranges within the chain, which includes the
Picos de Europa.
As a whole, the Cantabrian Mountains are remarkable for their intricate ramifications, but almost everywhere, and especially in the east, it's possible to distinguish two principal ranges, from which the lesser ridges and mountain masses radiate. One range, or series of ranges, closely follows the outline of the coast; the other, which is loftier, forms the northern limit of the great tableland of
Castile and León, and is sometimes regarded as a continuation of the Pyrenees. The coastal range rises in, some parts sheer above the sea, and everywhere has so abrupt a declivity that the streams which flow seaward are all short and swift.
The descent from the southern range to the high plateaux of Castile is more gradual, and several large rivers, notably the
Ebro, rise here and flow to the south or west. The breadth of the Cantabrian chain, with all its ramifications, increases from about 60 m; in the east to about 115 m in the west. Many peaks are over 6000
ft high, but the greatest
altitudes are attained in the central ridges on the borders of León,
Asturias,
Palencia and
Cantabria. Here are the highest peak
Torre de Cerredo (8,688 ft),
Peña Vieja (8,579 ft),
Peña Prieta (8,304 ft) and
Espigüete (7,898 ft); an unnamed summit in the
Picos de Europa, to which range the Peña Vieja also belongs, rises on the right bank of the
Sella to a height of 8,045 ft; further west the peaks of
Manpodres,
Peña Ubiña,
Peña Rubia and
Cuiña all exceed 7,000 ft. A conspicuous feature of the chain, as of the adjacent tableland, is the number of its parameras, isolated
plateaus shut in by lofty mountains or even by precipitous walls of rock.
The Cantabrian Mountains make a sharp divide between "
Green Spain" to the north, and the dry
central plateau. The north facing slopes receive heavy
cyclonic rainfall from the
Bay of Biscay, whereas the southern slopes are in
rain shadow.
The
Sierra de Ancares is an extension, to the south-west, of the Cantabrian Mountains, forming the boundary between
Galicia and
Léon.
These mountains are also a distinct physiographic province of the larger Alpine System physiographic division.
Flora and fauna
The Cantabrian Mountains are home to an important variety of plant life, as well as the
Cantabrian brown bear (
Ursus arctos pyrenaicus), catalogued as being in danger of extinction, which travels from
Léon to areas in
Palencia and
Cantabria, and the
Capercaillie (
T. urogallus cantabricus).
Other animals associated with the range include the
Iberian wolf (
Canis lupus signatus),
Pyrenean chamois (
Rupicapra pyrenaica) and the
rebeco, or Cantabrian chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica parva).
Ecology
The Cantabrian mountain range includes such important natural parks as the
Picos de Europa National Park, a park included in
UNESCO's
World Network of Biosphere Reserves and some of its valleys are included in the
European Union's
Natura 2000 network and
Special Protection Areas for the Conservation of Wild Birds.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Cantabrian Mountains'.
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