Serra del Montsec
Encyclopedia
The Serra del Montsec (ˈsɛrə ðəɫ munˈsɛk, ˈsɛra ðeɫ monˈsek) is a mountain system of the Pre-Pyrenees
Pre-Pyrenees
The Pre-Pyrenees are the foothills of the Pyrenees.-Description:As a mountainous system the Pre-Pyrenees are part of the Pyrenees. They run parallel to the main mountain range in a west to east direction...
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Description
The Serra del Montsec consists of a series of calcareousCalcareous
Calcareous is an adjective meaning mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate, in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines.-In zoology:...
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. Runs from east to west, it is about 40 km long and 186.96 square kilometres in area. The Montsec is located in the Catalan
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
province of Lleida
Lleida
Lleida is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida, as well as the largest city in the province and it had 137,387 inhabitants , including the contiguous municipalities of Raimat and Sucs. The metro area has about 250,000 inhabitants...
and the Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
ese province of Huesca
Huesca
Huesca is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the autonomous community of Aragon. It is also the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the comarca of Hoya de Huesca....
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...
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Geography
The name Montsec derives from the Latin Montus sectus, which makes reference to its characteristic rock formations. It is divided into three main massifs by 3 of the most important rivers in Catalonia: the eastern massif, El Montsec de Rúbies, is separated by the river Segre in the east and the Noguera Pallaresa in the middle, and to the west the Noguera Ribagorçana divides the central massif, El Montsec d'Ares, from the western El Montsec d'Estall, in AragonAragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
. Two gorges (congostos), those of Terradets and Montrebei, or Bonremei, have been opened by the action of the rivers and tectonic movements. The highest peak, Santalís, is found in the central massif, standing at 1,678 mm, and dominates views over Àger
Àger
Àger is a municipality in the comarca of the Noguera in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the north-west of the comarca, and the territory of the municipality stretches between the Noguera Ribagorçana and Noguera Pallaresa rivers. The Terradets reservoir on the Noguera Pallaresa is situated...
and the plains of Lleida to the south and the Pyrenees to the north.
The southern face is virtually a great wall with a "step" about two-thirds of the way up, and the northern side, although by no means as steep, still stands at 1,000 metres above the Tremp basin below.
Formation
Montsec's formation goes back to when sediments of several thousand metres deep were deposited in the CretaceousCretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
sea, raised and partly covered by the Eocene sea, and then raised again by Pyrenean folding. Fossils from the Mesozoic
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic era is an interval of geological time from about 250 million years ago to about 65 million years ago. It is often referred to as the age of reptiles because reptiles, namely dinosaurs, were the dominant terrestrial and marine vertebrates of the time...
era are relatively easy to find, and at Vilanova de Meià the deposits there are one of the most important in the world.
History
Montsec stands in a natural defensive position over the plains and is relatively protected from the icy winds from the north, and as such its strategic aspect was very important in times of the Reconquista. In the 10th century, when the caliphate of CórdobaCaliphate of Córdoba
The Caliphate of Córdoba ruled the Iberian peninsula and part of North Africa, from the city of Córdoba, from 929 to 1031. This period was characterized by remarkable success in trade and culture; many of the masterpieces of Islamic Iberia were constructed in this period, including the famous...
was at its height, Balaguer was the northernmost Arab city, and the castles of Castelló de Farfanya, Algerri, and Os de Balaguer were satellite fortifications which, together with a barrier of well-placed watch towers, formed the line of defense against the Christians to the north of Montsec. In the 11th and 18th centuries the area had one of the densest populations in Catalonia, but the population level began to fall at the beginning of the 20th century, and nowadays emigration is prominent and many villages are virtually abandoned.