Baetic Cordillera
Encyclopedia
The Baetic System is the main (together Pyrenees
) system of mountain range
s in Spain
. Located in southern and eastern Spain
, it is also known as the Baetic Cordillera, Baetic Ranges or Baetic Mountains. The name of the mountain system derives from the ancient Roman region of Baetica, one of the Imperial Roman provinces of the Iberian Peninsula
.
The Baetic System is made up of multiple mountain ranges that reach from western Andalusia
to Murcia
and Valencia. Generally the mountain ranges that are part of this system are aligned in a southwest-northeast direction.
The most well-known range of the Baetic System is the Sierra Nevada
, where the Mulhacén
, the highest mountain in continental Spain and in the Iberian Peninsula
is found.
The Rock of Gibraltar
is also considered to be part of the Baetic System.
To the north, the Baetic Ranges are separated from the Meseta Central and the Sierra Morena
by the basin of the Guadalquivir
. The Iberian System rises north of the eastern part of the Prebaetic System
, the northernmost prolongation of the Baetic System.
, which represents the westernmost edge of the Alpine Orogeny
. The geodynamic mechanisms responsible for its formation are so far relatively unknown.
The Gibraltar Arc geological region follows the Moroccan coast from Oujda
in the east to Tanger in the west, then crosses the Strait of Gibraltar
and goes east again from Cádiz
to Valencia
and the Balearic Islands
.
plant communities, including shrublands, oak
woodlands, broadleaf forests, and coniferous forests, which vary with elevation, soils, and topography.
The Baetic System, together with the Rif Mountains of Morocco, which face the Baetic Ranges across the Alboran Sea
, is one of the Mediterranean basin's ten biodiversity hotspot
s, known to ecologists as the Baetic-Rifan complex. The Baetic mountains are home to a rich assemblage of Mediterranean plants, including a number of relict
species from the ancient laurel forest
s, which covered much of the Mediterranean basin millions of years ago when it was more humid.
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
) system of mountain range
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
s in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Located in southern and eastern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, it is also known as the Baetic Cordillera, Baetic Ranges or Baetic Mountains. The name of the mountain system derives from the ancient Roman region of Baetica, one of the Imperial Roman provinces of the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
.
The Baetic System is made up of multiple mountain ranges that reach from western Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
to Murcia
Murcia
-History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village...
and Valencia. Generally the mountain ranges that are part of this system are aligned in a southwest-northeast direction.
The most well-known range of the Baetic System is the Sierra Nevada
Sierra Nevada (Spain)
The Sierra Nevada is a mountain range in the region of provinces of Granada and Almería in Spain. It contains the highest point of continental Spain, Mulhacén at 3478 m above sea level....
, where the Mulhacén
Mulhacén
Mulhacén is the highest mountain in continental Spain and in the Iberian Peninsula. It is part of the Sierra Nevada range in the Cordillera Penibética...
, the highest mountain in continental Spain and in the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
is found.
The Rock of Gibraltar
Rock of Gibraltar
The Rock of Gibraltar is a monolithic limestone promontory located in Gibraltar, off the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. It is high...
is also considered to be part of the Baetic System.
To the north, the Baetic Ranges are separated from the Meseta Central and the Sierra Morena
Sierra Morena
The Sierra Morena is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain.It stretches for 400 kilometres East-West across southern Spain, forming the southern border of the Meseta Central plateau of the Iberian Peninsula, and providing the watershed between the valleys of the Guadiana to the...
by the basin of the Guadalquivir
Guadalquivir
The Guadalquivir is the fifth longest river in the Iberian peninsula and the second longest river to be its whole length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is 657 kilometers long and drains an area of about 58,000 square kilometers...
. The Iberian System rises north of the eastern part of the Prebaetic System
Prebaetic System
The Prebaetic System is a system of mountain ranges that forms the northernmost prolongation of the Baetic System in the southern Iberian Peninsula...
, the northernmost prolongation of the Baetic System.
Geology
The Baetic System as a geological feature belongs to a larger orogen usually called Gibraltar ArcGibraltar Arc
The Gibraltar Arc is a geological region corresponding to an arcuate orogen surrounding the Alboran Sea, between the Iberian Peninsula and Africa. It consists of the Betic Cordillera , and the Rif ....
, which represents the westernmost edge of the Alpine Orogeny
Alpine orogeny
The Alpine orogeny is an orogenic phase in the Late Mesozoic and Tertiary that formed the mountain ranges of the Alpide belt...
. The geodynamic mechanisms responsible for its formation are so far relatively unknown.
The Gibraltar Arc geological region follows the Moroccan coast from Oujda
Oujda
Oujda is a city in eastern Morocco with an estimated population of 1 million. The city is located about 15 kilometers west of Algeria and about 60 kilometers south of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the capital of the Oriental Region of Morocco and the birthplace of the current Algerian president,...
in the east to Tanger in the west, then crosses the Strait of Gibraltar
Strait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. The name comes from Gibraltar, which in turn originates from the Arabic Jebel Tariq , albeit the Arab name for the Strait is Bab el-Zakat or...
and goes east again from Cádiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
to Valencia
Valencia (city in Spain)
Valencia or València is the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third largest city in Spain, with a population of 809,267 in 2010. It is the 15th-most populous municipality in the European Union...
and the Balearic Islands
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...
.
Ecology
The Baetic System is home to a number of Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrubMediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, defined by the World Wildlife Fund, characterized by dry summers and rainy winters. Summers are typically hot in low-lying inland locations but can be cool near some seas, as near San Francisco, which have a sea of cool waters...
plant communities, including shrublands, oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
woodlands, broadleaf forests, and coniferous forests, which vary with elevation, soils, and topography.
The Baetic System, together with the Rif Mountains of Morocco, which face the Baetic Ranges across the Alboran Sea
Alboran Sea
|300px|thumb|]]The Alboran Sea is the westernmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea, lying between Spain on the north and Morocco and Algeria on the south...
, is one of the Mediterranean basin's ten biodiversity hotspot
Biodiversity hotspot
A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans.The concept of biodiversity hotspots was originated by Norman Myers in two articles in “The Environmentalist” , revised after thorough analysis by Myers and others in...
s, known to ecologists as the Baetic-Rifan complex. The Baetic mountains are home to a rich assemblage of Mediterranean plants, including a number of relict
Relict
A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon.* In biology a relict is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas....
species from the ancient laurel forest
Laurel forest
Laurel forest is a subtropical or mild temperate forest, found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable and mild temperatures. They are characterized by tree species with evergreen, glossy, enlongated leaves, known as laurophyll or lauroide...
s, which covered much of the Mediterranean basin millions of years ago when it was more humid.
Subdivision
The Baetic System is divided into the following sub-chains:- Cordillera PenibéticaCordillera PenibéticaThe Cordillera Penibética mountain range is the most southerly of the Baetic Cordillera; it runs along the south coast of Andalusia, from the province of Cádiz, across the province of Almería, into the Region of Murcia...
- Serranía de RondaSerranía de RondaThe Serranía de Ronda is a comarca in the western part of province of Málaga, Andalusia, Spain. As is currently the norm in Andalusia, it has no formal status...
- Cordillera Antequerana
- Sierra de Tejeda
- Sierra de Almijara
- Sierra NevadaSierra Nevada (Spain)The Sierra Nevada is a mountain range in the region of provinces of Granada and Almería in Spain. It contains the highest point of continental Spain, Mulhacén at 3478 m above sea level....
- Sierra de Lújar
- Sierra de la Contraviesa
- Sierra de Cogollos
- Sierra de Gádor
- Sierra de BazaSierra de BazaSierra de Baza is a mountain range near the city of Baza in the Granada province in Spain. It is named after the town of Baza and its highest point is the 2,269 m high Calar de Santa Bárbara....
- Sierra de los FilabresSierra de Los FilabresSierra de Los Filabres is the largest mountain range in Almería Province, Andalusia, Spain. It is forms the southern limit of the Almanzora Valley...
- Sierra de Alhamilla
- Sierra Espuña
- Serranía de Ronda
- The Surco IntrabéticoSurco IntrabéticoThe Surco Intrabético is a discontinuous series of valleys in the Baetic Cordillera of Andalusia, Spain, which separate the Cordillera Penibética to its south from the Cordillera Subbética to its north. These valleys run more or less parallel to the Mediterranean coast...
comprises a series of valleys and depressions separating the Cordillera Penibética from the Cordillera Subbética - Cordillera SubbéticaCordillera SubbéticaThe Subbaetic Mountains or Subbaetic System is one of the two main systems of mountain ranges that is part of the Baetic System in the southern Iberian Peninsula...
- Sierra del Aljibe, includes the Alcornocales Natural Park
- Rock of GibraltarRock of GibraltarThe Rock of Gibraltar is a monolithic limestone promontory located in Gibraltar, off the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. It is high...
- Sierra de Grazalema
- Sierra de Gibalbín
- Sierras Subbéticas de Córdoba
- Sierra Elvira
- Sierra de Loja
- Sierra Sur de JaénSierra Sur de JaénSierra Sur de Jaén is a Spanish geographical indication for Vino de la Tierra wines located in the autonomous region of Andalusia. Vino de la Tierra is one step below the mainstream Denominación de Origen indication on the Spanish wine quality ladder....
- Sierra HaranaSierra HaranaThe Sierra Arana or Sierra Harana is a mountain range in the center of the province of Granada, southern Spain. According to some geographers it includes other ranges such as the Sierra de Cogollos, the Sierra de la Yedra and the Sierra de Alfacar y Víznar.Part of the larger Subbaetic Cordillera,...
- Sierra de Huétor, overlapping with the Sistema Penibético
- Sierra MáginaSierra MáginaThe Sierra Mágina is a massif in the province of Jaén , part of the Cordillera Subbética. The highest peak is the Pico Mágina, with an elevation of 2,164 m....
, along with the Sierra de la Sagra overlapping with the Cordillera Prebética
- Cordillera Prebética
- Sierra de CazorlaSierra de CazorlaSierra de Cazorla is a mountain range of the Prebaetic System in the Jaén Province in Spain. It is named after the ancient town of Villa de Segura and it gives its name to the Segura River...
- Sierra de SeguraSierra de SeguraSierra de Segura is a mountain range of the Prebaetic System in the Jaén Province in Spain. It is named after the ancient town of Villa de Segura and it gives its name to the Segura River...
- Sierra de AlcarazSierra de AlcarazSierra de Alcaraz is a comarca of the Province of Albacete, Spain....
- Sierra de Castril
- Sierra de la Sagra
- Sierra del Taibilla
- Sierra de María, overlapping with the Cordillera Penibética
- Serra Mariola
- Montgó Massif
- Sierra de Bernia
- Penyal d'Ifac
- Sierra de Cazorla