Hoya of Guadix
Encyclopedia
The Hoya of Guadix is a natural plain
in the northern part of the province
of Granada
, Andalusia
, Spain
. It covers some 500 square kilometres (193.1 sq mi), and is formed by the basins of the Rivers Fardes and Guadix. It is surrounded by the heights of the Sierra Nevada
to the south, the Sierra de Baza
to the east, the Sierra Mágina
to the north and the Sierra Harana
to the west. It is separated by the Cerro Jabalcón from the Hoya of Baza
which, like the Hoya of Guadix, is one of the series of valleys forming the Surco Intrabético
.
The term hoya literally means "trough" and refers to the boxed in character of the area.
There is an abundance of geological material of from the Burdigalian
portion of the early Miocene
, some 20 million years ago. Materials of marine origin were deposited for some 7 million years, after which the basin became totally isolated from the sea. From that time, further deposits are exclusively continental, carried by flowing rivers. The current configuration of the Hoya began to take form some 500,000 years ago in a strong paleogeographic restructuring. Small rivers formed in the reliefs that surrounded the basin began a process of erosion
that gave the landscape its now-characteristic gullies
and badlands
.
Nowadays, the waters of the Fardes and Guadix have made the Hoya de Guadix a fertile, zone for irrigated farming, including fruit orchards (especially elon]s]), poplar
trees grown for their wood, cereal
s, legumes and vegetable
s.
Plain
In geography, a plain is land with relatively low relief, that is flat or gently rolling. Prairies and steppes are types of plains, and the archetype for a plain is often thought of as a grassland, but plains in their natural state may also be covered in shrublands, woodland and forest, or...
in the northern part of the province
Provinces of Spain
Spain and its autonomous communities are divided into fifty provinces .In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian , sing. província.*Galician , sing. provincia.*Basque |Galicia]] — are not also the capitals of provinces...
of Granada
Granada (province)
Granada is a province of southern Spain, in the eastern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by the provinces of Albacete, Murcia, Almería, Jaén, Córdoba, Málaga, and the Mediterranean Sea . Its capital city is also called Granada.The province covers an area of 12,635 km²...
, 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...
, 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 covers some 500 square kilometres (193.1 sq mi), and is formed by the basins of the Rivers Fardes and Guadix. It is surrounded by the heights of 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....
to the south, the Sierra de Baza
Sierra de Baza
Sierra 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....
to the east, the Sierra Mágina
Sierra Mágina
The 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....
to the north and the Sierra Harana
Sierra Harana
The 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,...
to the west. It is separated by the Cerro Jabalcón from the Hoya of Baza
Hoya of Baza
The Hoya of Baza is a valley in the northern part of the province of Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It is one of the series of valleys forming the Surco Intrabético....
which, like the Hoya of Guadix, is one of the series of valleys forming the Surco Intrabético
Surco Intrabético
The 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...
.
The term hoya literally means "trough" and refers to the boxed in character of the area.
There is an abundance of geological material of from the Burdigalian
Burdigalian
The Burdigalian is, in the geologic timescale, an age or stage in the early Miocene. It spans the time between 20.43 ± 0.05 Ma and 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma...
portion of the early Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
, some 20 million years ago. Materials of marine origin were deposited for some 7 million years, after which the basin became totally isolated from the sea. From that time, further deposits are exclusively continental, carried by flowing rivers. The current configuration of the Hoya began to take form some 500,000 years ago in a strong paleogeographic restructuring. Small rivers formed in the reliefs that surrounded the basin began a process of erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
that gave the landscape its now-characteristic gullies
Gully
A gully is a landform created by running water, eroding sharply into soil, typically on a hillside. Gullies resemble large ditches or small valleys, but are metres to tens of metres in depth and width...
and badlands
Badlands
A badlands is a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded by wind and water. It can resemble malpaís, a terrain of volcanic rock. Canyons, ravines, gullies, hoodoos and other such geological forms are common in badlands. They are often...
.
Nowadays, the waters of the Fardes and Guadix have made the Hoya de Guadix a fertile, zone for irrigated farming, including fruit orchards (especially elon]s]), poplar
Poplar
Populus is a genus of 25–35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar , aspen, and cottonwood....
trees grown for their wood, cereal
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
s, legumes and vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
s.