Los Alcornocales Natural Park
Encyclopedia
Natural park (Spain)
In Spain, a natural park is a natural space protected for its biology, geology, or landscape, with ecological, aesthetic, educational, or scientific value whose preservation merits preferential attention on the part of public administration. The regulation of the activities that may occur there...
located in the south of 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...
, in the autonomous community of 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...
; it is shared between the provinces of Cádiz
Cádiz (province)
Cádiz is a province of southern Spain, in the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia, the southernmost part of continental Western Europe....
and Málaga
Málaga (province)
The Province of Málaga is located on the southern coast of Spain, in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the South, and by the provinces of Cádiz, Sevilla, Córdoba and Granada.Its area is 7,308 km²...
. The natural park occupies a territory spanning seventeen municipalities with a total population of about 380,000. "Los Alcornocales" means "the cork oak groves".
Nearly all of the uninhabited land in the park is covered by Mediterranean native forest. While some of the land has been cleared for cattle ranches, much of the human activity in the park is devoted to exploitation of the forest's resources: hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
wild game, collecting wild mushrooms
Mushroom hunting
Mushroom hunting, mushrooming, mushroom picking, and similar terms describe the activity of gathering mushrooms in the wild, typically for eating...
, and foraging for good specimens of tree heath
Tree heath
Erica arborea, the tree heath, is a shrub or small evergreen tree found mostly in the macchia-matorral-maquis shrublands, dry evergreen scrublands, surrounding the Mediterranean Basin and west to Portugal and the Canary and Madeira Islands....
.
The tree heath (Erica arborea, called "brezos" in Spanish) is a small evergreen shrub, rarely more than two or three meters high; it is the source of the reddish briar-root wood used in making tobacco pipes, and its wood is excellent raw material for making charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
.
Above all, however, the park's forests are exploited for the production of cork
Cork (material)
Cork is an impermeable, buoyant material, a prime-subset of bark tissue that is harvested for commercial use primarily from Quercus suber , which is endemic to southwest Europe and northwest Africa...
. The cork oak
Cork Oak
Quercus suber, commonly called the Cork Oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section Quercus sect. Cerris. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring. It is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa.It grows to up to 20 m,...
(Quercus suber) is a tree with a spongy layer of material lying between the outer surface of its bark and the underlying living layer called the phloem
Phloem
In vascular plants, phloem is the living tissue that carries organic nutrients , in particular, glucose, a sugar, to all parts of the plant where needed. In trees, the phloem is the innermost layer of the bark, hence the name, derived from the Greek word "bark"...
(which, in turn, encloses the non-living woody stem.) Cork is generated by a specialized layer of tissue called cork cambium
Cork cambium
Cork cambium is a tissue found in many vascular plants as part of the periderm. The cork cambium is a lateral meristem and is responsible for secondary growth that replaces the epidermis in roots and stems...
. Properly done, harvesting cork from a given tree can be undertaken every ten to twelve years without damaging the tree; the cork cambium simply regenerates it. Cork has many commercial uses, including wine-bottle stoppers, bulletin boards, coasters, insulation, sealing material for jar lids, flooring, gaskets for engines, fishing bobbers, handles for fishing rods and tennis rackets, etc.
Climate
Given the geographic position of Los Alcornocales, the dominant climate in the zone is, logically, MediterraneanMediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
, but a series of factors contribute to its uniqueness. Its close proximity to the sea helps keep the temperature relatively mild all year long. The average rainfall usually reaches over 800 L/m², with certain zones receiving more than 1,400 L/m² thanks to the ocean front. In the mountain ranges to the south, there are great fogs known as the barbas del Levante (the beards of the east wind). These fogs provide the humidity to form precipitation during the long dry seasons that usually characterize Mediterranean climates. The strong East wind is known as El Levante, and is associated with high temperatures. The wind from the West, which frequently brings rain, is known as El Poniente. These winds make this area one of the best places to construct wind farm
Wind farm
A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other...
s in all of Spain.
Flora
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
.
Forests and smaller wooded areas within the park are comprised mainly by cork oaks
Cork Oak
Quercus suber, commonly called the Cork Oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section Quercus sect. Cerris. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring. It is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa.It grows to up to 20 m,...
(Quercus suber), Portuguese oaks
Portuguese Oak
Quercus faginea, the Portuguese Oak, is a species of oak native to the western Mediterranean region in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. Similar trees in the Atlas Mountains of northwest Africa are usually included in this species, or sometimes treated as a distinct species Quercus...
(Quercus faginea), Pyrenean oaks (Quercus pyrenaica), olive trees
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
(Olea europaea), alder
Alder
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...
s (Alnus glutinosa and Alnus incana incana), holly trees
Holly
Ilex) is a genus of 400 to 600 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. The species are evergreen and deciduous trees, shrubs, and climbers from tropics to temperate zones world wide....
(Ilex aquifolium), bay laurels
Bay Laurel
The bay laurel , also known as sweet bay, bay tree, true laurel, Grecian laurel, laurel tree, or simply laurel, is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glossy leaves, native to the Mediterranean region. It is the source of the bay leaf used in cooking...
(Laurus nobilis), rhododendrons
Rhododendron ponticum
Rhododendron ponticum, called Common Rhododendron or Pontic Rhododendron, is a species of Rhododendron native to southern Europe and southwest Asia.-Description:...
(Rhododendron ponticum), fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
s, moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
es, and lichen
Lichen
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
s.
See also: Cork as a commercial material
Cork (material)
Cork is an impermeable, buoyant material, a prime-subset of bark tissue that is harvested for commercial use primarily from Quercus suber , which is endemic to southwest Europe and northwest Africa...
and Forests of the Iberian Peninsula
Forests of the Iberian Peninsula
The woodlands of the Iberian Peninsula are distinct ecosystems on the Iberian Peninsula, spanning mainly Spain and Portugal. Although the various regions are each characterized by distinct vegetation, there are some similarities across the peninsula....
.
Fauna
- StorkStorkStorks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae. They are the only family in the biological order Ciconiiformes, which was once much larger and held a number of families....
s (white, Ciconia ciconia; yellow-billed, Mycteria ibis; black, Ciconia nigra) - KitesKite (bird)Kites are raptors with long wings and weak legs which spend a great deal of time soaring. Most feed mainly on carrion but some take various amounts of live prey.They are birds of prey which, along with hawks and eagles, are from the family Accipitridae....
(black-winged, Elanus caeruleus; red, Milvus milvus; black, Milvus migrans) - BuzzardsCommon BuzzardThe Common Buzzard is a medium to large bird of prey, whose range covers most of Europe and extends into Asia. It is usually resident all year, except in the coldest parts of its range, and in the case of one subspecies.-Description:...
(Buteo buteo) - Spanish imperial eaglesSpanish Imperial EagleThe Spanish Imperial Eagle, Iberian Imperial Eagle or Adalbert's Eagle is a threatened species of eagle that only occurs in central and south-west Spain, adjacent areas of Portugal and possibly northern Morocco, although the latter is disputed...
(Aquila adalberti) - VultureVultureVulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...
s (Eurasian black, Aegypius monachus; griffon, Gyps fulvus; Egyptian, Neophron percnopterus) - Eurasian wolvesEurasian WolfThe Eurasian Wolf , also known as the, European, Common or Forest Wolf is a subspecies of grey wolf which has the largest range among wolf subspecies and is the most common in Europe and Asia, ranging through Mongolia, China, Russia, Scandinavia, Western Europe and the Himalayan Mountains...
(Canis lupus lupus) - Egyptian mongooseEgyptian mongooseThe Egyptian Mongoose , also known as the Ichneumon, is a species of mongoose. It may be a reservoir host for Visceral leishmaniasis in Sudan.-Range and habitat:...
s (Herpestes ichneumon) - Common genetsCommon GenetThe Common Genet , also known as the Small-spotted Genet or European Genet, is a mammal from the order Carnivora, related to civets and linsangs. The most far-ranging of all the fourteen species of genet, it can be found throughout Africa, parts of the Middle East, and in Europe in Spain, Portugal,...
(Genetta genetta) - European ottersOtterThe Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
(Lutra lutra) - European polecatsEuropean polecatThe European polecat , also known as the black or forest polecat , is a species of Mustelid native to western Eurasia and North Africa, which is classed by the IUCN as Least Concern due to its wide range and large numbers. It is of a generally dark brown colour, with a pale underbelly and a dark...
(Mustela putorius) - WildcatsWild catThe wildcat is a small cat with several subspecies and a very broad distribution, found throughout most of Africa, Europe, and southwest and central Asia into India, China, and Mongolia. It is a hunter of small mammals, birds, and other creatures of a similar or smaller size. Sometimes included is...
(Felis silvestris) - Weasels (Mustela nivalis)
- Iberian lynxesIberian LynxThe Iberian lynx, Lynx pardinus, is a critically endangered species native to the Iberian Peninsula in Southern Europe. It is one of the most endangered cat species in the world. According to the conservation group SOS Lynx, if this species died out, it would be one of the few feline extinctions...
(Felis pardina) - Roe deerRoe DeerThe European Roe Deer , also known as the Western Roe Deer, chevreuil or just Roe Deer, is a Eurasian species of deer. It is relatively small, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapted to cold environments. Roe Deer are widespread in Western Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, and from...
(Capreolus capreolus) - Fallow deerFallow DeerThe Fallow Deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. This common species is native to western Eurasia, but has been introduced widely elsewhere. It often includes the rarer Persian Fallow Deer as a subspecies , while others treat it as an entirely different species The Fallow...
(Dama dama)
History
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
and the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
; similarly, it forms the throat of a bridge between Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, a bridge broken only by the narrow 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...
. Its geographic position is the circumstance, as much as its climate, topography, or suitability for agriculture, that has dictated its patrimony.
Neanderthal
The Neanderthal is an extinct member of the Homo genus known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia...
s dating back more than thirty thousand years, as well as stone implements, engravings, and cave paintings from both the Paleolithic
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...
and Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
ages. Of the greatest interest to visitors, however, are the Bronze Age cave dwellings that dot the area. Of more than fifty caves discovered so far, there are three that have special artistic value: the Cueva del Tajo de las Figuras (Cave of the Figures on the Precipice), which has been compared to the Sistine Chapel
Sistine Chapel
Sistine Chapel is the best-known chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City. It is famous for its architecture and its decoration that was frescoed throughout by Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio...
among examples of cave art; the Cave of the High Laja, that houses pictures of the earliest-known boats to ply the Mediterranean; and the Cave of Bacinete
Cave of Bacinete
The Cave of Bacinete is a cave located in Los Alcornocales Natural Park, Los Barrios, Spain. It contains examples of prehistoric rock art and was declared Bien de Interés Cultural in 1985....
, with more than a hundred pictographic representations in a magnificent state of conservation.
Later in history, a succession of civilizations and cultures, one superimposed on the next, has dominated this area, all of whom have contributed to its ethnological character. Each has left its marks on the landscape; there are megalíthic monuments, Iberian, Phoenician, and Roman ruins, Arab strongholds, etc. Many of the towns that today comprise the park reached their highest state of civilization during the Muslim Nasrid dynasty
Nasrid dynasty
The Nasrid dynasty was the last Moorish and Muslim dynasty in Spain. The Nasrid dynasty rose to power after the defeat of the Almohad Caliphate in 1212 at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa...
, when this area was on the western fringe of the Kingdom of Granada. Today, in this area, many examples of the architecture introduced during the period of Muslim occupation survive; among them are the unique White Towns of Andalusia
White Towns of Andalusia
The White Towns of Andalusia, or Pueblos Blancos, are a series of towns and large villages in the northern part of the provinces of Cádiz and Málaga in southern Spain, mostly within the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park....
. Jimena de la Frontera
Jimena de la Frontera
Jimena de la Frontera is a historic town and municipality located in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to estimates made by the National Statistics Institute of Spain , the municipality has a population of 9,893 inhabitants in 2006...
, Castellar de la Frontera
Castellar de la Frontera
Castellar de la Frontera is a town and municipality located in the province of Cádiz, southern Spain.- External links :* - Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía...
, and Medina Sidonia are magnificent examples.
Caves
The Cueva del Tajo de las Figuras, located near the town of Benalup-Casas ViejasBenalup-Casas Viejas
Casas Viejas is a city located in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to the 2005 census, the city has a population of 6,754 inhabitants.Casas Viejas is located in the Ruta del Toro.-Benalup-Casas Viejas revolution:...
, belongs to the group of paleolithic and neolithic sites in southern 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...
that have examples of rock art that the Spanish call "art sureño" (southern art). In 1913, Juan Cabré and Eduardo Hernández-Pacheco began the first systematic studies of "art sureño" at this cave. The paintings are mostly representations of birds and odd four-footed man-like figures dating from neolithic times.
The ecological disaster at La Janda
Near the Cueva del Tajo de las Figuras was the ancient Laguna de la Janda, a haven where millions of birds, both resident and migratory species, found a suitable habitat for feeding and reproduction. Unfortunately, during the middle part of the twentieth century, this important ecological niche was destroyed. To support local rice-growing, water from the lagoon and its associated fresh-water wetlands was diverted, and the area dried up almost completely. In the process, the last reproductive Spanish population of the Eurasian craneCommon Crane
The Common Crane , also known as the Eurasian Crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes.It is a large, stately bird and a medium-sized crane at 100–130 cm long, with a 180–240 cm wingspan and a weight of 4.5–6 kg...
(Grus grus) was lost as well.
.jpg)
Towns and cities within the park
Cádiz (province)
Cádiz is a province of southern Spain, in the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia, the southernmost part of continental Western Europe....
lie within the Natural Park of Los Alcornocales : Alcalá de los Gazules
Alcalá de los Gazules
Alcalá de los Gazules is a city located in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to the 2006 census, the town has a population of 5,633 inhabitants...
, Algar
Algar
-Monuments:*Iglesia Parroquial de Santa María de Guadalupe.*Plaza de Toros de Algar.*Puerta de Alcalá.-Economy:*Agriculture*Animal husbandry*Fur trade*Wood*Rural tourism- External links :** - Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía...
, Algeciras
Algeciras
Algeciras is a port city in the south of Spain, and is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar . Port of Algeciras is one of the largest ports in Europe and in the world in three categories: container,...
, Arcos de la Frontera
Arcos de la Frontera
Arcos de la Frontera is a town in the province of Cádiz in southern Spain. It is located on the eastern bank of the Guadalete river, which flows to the Bay of Cadiz. The town commands a fine vista atop a sandstone ridge, from which the peak of San Cristobal and the Guadalete Valley can be seen...
, Benalup-Casas Viejas
Benalup-Casas Viejas
Casas Viejas is a city located in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to the 2005 census, the city has a population of 6,754 inhabitants.Casas Viejas is located in the Ruta del Toro.-Benalup-Casas Viejas revolution:...
, Benaocaz
Benaocaz
Benaocaz is a city located in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to the 2006 census, the city has a population of 729 inhabitants.-Demographics:- External links :* - Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía...
, Castellar de la Frontera
Castellar de la Frontera
Castellar de la Frontera is a town and municipality located in the province of Cádiz, southern Spain.- External links :* - Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía...
, El Bosque
El Bosque
-Places:* El Bosque, Chile, a municipality within Greater Santiago* El Bosque, Chiapas, a municipality and township in the state of Chiapas, Mexico* El Bosque, Cádiz, in the province of Cádiz in Andalusia, southern Spain. Pop. 1,911 ....
, Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera is a municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, situated midway between the sea and the mountains. , the city, the largest in the province, had 208,896 inhabitants; it is the fifth largest in Andalusia...
, Jimena de la Frontera
Jimena de la Frontera
Jimena de la Frontera is a historic town and municipality located in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to estimates made by the National Statistics Institute of Spain , the municipality has a population of 9,893 inhabitants in 2006...
, Los Barrios
Los Barrios
Los Barrios is a small town and municipality in the south of Spain. It is part of the province of Cádiz, which in turn is part of the Andalusia region. It belongs to the Campo de Gibraltar comarca...
, Medina-Sidonia
Medina-Sidonia
Medina-Sidonia is a city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, southern Spain. It is considered by some to be the oldest city in Europe, used as a military defense location due to its elevated location. Locals are known as Asidonenses...
, Prado del Rey
Prado del Rey
Prado del Rey is a city located in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to the 2005 census, the city has a population of 5,968 inhabitants.- History :...
, San José del Valle
San José del Valle
-External links:* - Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía...
, Tarifa
Tarifa
Tarifa is a small town in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia, on the southernmost coast of Spain. The town is located on the Costa de la Luz and across the Straits of Gibraltar facing Morocco. The municipality includes Punta de Tarifa, the southernmost point in continental Europe. There are five...
and Ubrique
Ubrique
- External links :* -...
. Likewise, there is one town in Málaga province, Cortes de la Frontera
Cortes de la Frontera
Cortes de la Frontera is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. The municipality is situated approximately 40 kilometres from Ronda, 20 from Benaoján and 159 from the provincial capital. It has a population of...
, that has land within park boundaries. There are lots of paths connecting these municipalities, nowadays used for hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
.