Sierra de Guadarrama - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Sierra de Guadarrama is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central

Sistema Central

The Sistema Central is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in the Iberian Peninsula.-Description:The Sistema Central is a primary feature of the Meseta Central, the inner Iberian plateau, splitting the meseta into two parts...

, the 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 at the centre 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...

. It is located between the Sierra de Gredos

Sierra de Gredos

The Sierra de Gredos is a mountain range in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, located between Ávila, Cáceres, Madrid and Toledo. It has been declared a regional park. Its highest point is Pico Almanzor, at 2,592 metres....

in the province of Ávila

Ávila (province)

Ávila is a province of central-western Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered on the south by the provinces of Toledo and Cáceres, on the west by Salamanca, on the north by Valladolid, and on the east by Segovia and Madrid. Ávila has a...

, and Sierra de Ayllón in the province of Guadalajara

Guadalajara (province)

Guadalajara is a province of central/north-central Spain, in the northern part of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. It is bordered by the provinces of Cuenca, Madrid, Segovia, Soria, Zaragoza, and Teruel...

. The range runs southwest - northeast, extending into the province of Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

to the south, and towards the provinces of Ávila and Segovia

Segovia (province)

Segovia is a province of central/northern Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered by the provinces of Burgos, Soria, Guadalajara, Madrid, Ávila, and Valladolid....

to the north. The chain as a whole measures approximately 80 km in length, with its highest peak, Peñalara

Peñalara

Peñalara is the highest mountain peak in the mountain range of Guadarrama, a subsection of Spain's larger Sistema Central mountain chain which lies at the center and divides the Iberian Peninsula. Straddling the provinces of Madrid and Segovia, Peñalara reaches a height of 2,428 metres above sea...

, reaching 2,428 m above sea level (7,965 ft).

The vegetation of the mountain range is characterized by an abundance of pine

Scots Pine

Pinus sylvestris, commonly known as the Scots Pine, is a species of pine native to Europe and Asia, ranging from Scotland, Ireland and Portugal in the west, east to eastern Siberia, south to the Caucasus Mountains, and as far north as well inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia...

forests and copses of 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...

and Holm oak

Holm Oak

Quercus ilex, the Holm Oak or Holly Oak is a large evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean region. It takes its name from holm, an ancient name for holly...

in its lower slopes, while the montane grasslands and pastures around the summits are fringed by juniper and Spanish Broom shrubs. The mountains abound with a variety of wildlife such as Spanish ibex

Spanish ibex

The Iberian ibex, Spanish ibex, Spanish wild goat, or Iberian wild goat is a species of ibex with four subspecies. Of these, two can still be found on the Iberian Peninsula, but the remaining two are now extinct. The Portuguese subspecies became extinct in 1892 and the Pyrenean subspecies became...

, roe deer

Roe Deer

The 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...

, fallow deer

Fallow Deer

The 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...

, wild boar, badger

Badger

Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...

, various types of weasel

Mustelidae

Mustelidae , commonly referred to as the weasel family, are a family of carnivorous mammals. Mustelids are diverse and the largest family in the order Carnivora, at least partly because in the past it has been a catch-all category for many early or poorly differentiated taxa...

, European wild cat

Wild cat

The 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...

, fox

Fox

Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...

and hare

Hare

Hares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares less than one year old are called leverets. Four species commonly known as types of hare are classified outside of Lepus: the hispid hare , and three species known as red rock hares .Hares are very fast-moving...

. The area is also rich in birdlife including birds of prey

Bird of prey

Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....

such as the Spanish Imperial Eagle

Spanish Imperial Eagle

The 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...

and the Eurasian Black Vulture

Eurasian Black Vulture

The Cinereous Vulture is also known as the Black Vulture, Monk Vulture, or Eurasian Black Vulture. It is a member of the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers.This bird is an Old World vulture, and is only distantly related to the...

.

The mountain range's proximity to Madrid

Madrid

means it can get crowded. The area is today crossed by numerous passes and railway routes and sustains a highly developed tourism infrastructure, coupled with provisions for various mountain sports; this poses a threat to the fragile environment

Natural environment

The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....

of the mountains.

Description

Etymology of the name

The name, Sierra de Guadarrama (Guadarrama Mountains), is taken from the Guadarrama river and the town of Guadarrama

Guadarrama

Guadarrama is a town in the Community of Madrid in Spain.Pop: 13032 , approx. 60000 .Co-ordinates . not true...

, both of which are located in these mountains. The word Guadarrama itself is derived from the Arabic words for sandy river — Guad from wadi, meaning river, and arrama from ar-rama, meaning sandy. Another interpretation considers unlikely that a minor river could design a vast mountain range, and makes the name derive from the latin aquae dirrama, meaning water divide which very aptly describes the position of the sierra between the two largest water basins in the Iberian Peninsula

Iberian Peninsula

, those of the Douro

Douro

The Douro or Duero is one of the major rivers of the Iberian Peninsula, flowing from its source near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province across northern-central Spain and Portugal to its outlet at Porto...

, to the north, and of the Tagus

Tagus

The Tagus is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula. It is long, in Spain, along the border between Portugal and Spain and in Portugal, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Lisbon. It drains an area of . The Tagus is highly utilized for most of its course...

, to the south.

General information

The Guadarramas form a natural division between the North and South mesetas of the Iberian Peninsula

Iberian Peninsula

, part of the so-called Sistema Central

Sistema Central

.

The mountain bases are located between 900 and 1,200 metres above sea level, and the principal peaks of the range have an average topographical prominence of 1,000 metres. The range's highest peak, Peñalara

Peñalara

, reaches 2,428 metres above sea level. The range begins in the valley of the Alberche

Alberche

The Alberche is a river in the provinces of Ávila, Madrid and Toledo, central Spain. It begins its course at 1,800 m in Fuente Alberche, San Martín de la Vega del Alberche municipal term, Ávila Province...

river, which divides the Sierra de Gredos

Sierra de Gredos

into two portions, and finishes at the Somosierra Pass, which serves as the hydrographic

Hydrography

Hydrography is the measurement of the depths, the tides and currents of a body of water and establishment of the sea, river or lake bed topography and morphology. Normally and historically for the purpose of charting a body of water for the safe navigation of shipping...

boundary between the river basins of the Tagus

Tagus

and Duero rivers. The mountains contribute fluvial

Fluvial

Fluvial is used in geography and Earth science to refer to the processes associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them...

material to both rivers through the action of various mountain streams, such as the Jarama

Jarama

Jarama is a river in central Spain. It flows north to south, and passes east of Madrid when El Atazar Dam is built on a tributary, the Lozoya River. It flows into the river Tagus in Aranjuez...

, Guadarrama, and Manzanares, which empty into the Tagus, and the Duratón

Duratón River

The Duratón River is a river in Spain. It originates in the municipality of Somosierra in the Sierra de Guadarrama....

, Cega, and Eresma, which flow into the Duero. The geographical coordinates

Geographic coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on the Earth to be specified by a set of numbers. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represent vertical position, and two or three of the numbers represent horizontal position...

of the range's northeast terminus lies near 41° 4' North, 3° 44' West, and the southwestern end near 40° 22' North, 4° 18' West.

Diverging from its main southwest-to-northeast alignment, the range has a westward-trending branch known as the Cuerda Larga, or Carpetanos Mountains (Montes Carpetanos). (This name is sometimes also applied to the northern part of the main axis of the Guadarramas between Peñalara

Peñalara

and Somosierra.) The 15 km long Carpetanos sub-range is an imposing sight, starting in the Community of Madrid at Puerto de Navacerrada, and averaging more than 2,000 metres in elevation all the way to the Morcuera Pass (Puerto de la Morcuera). From there, the Carpetanos slope downward until they reach the confluence

Confluence (geography)

In geography, a confluence is the meeting of two or more bodies of water. It usually refers to the point where two streams flow together, merging into a single stream...

of the Lozoya

Lozoya River

The Lozoya River is a river flowing near the centre of Spain. It originates at a high altitude in the Sistema Central and cuts downward through steep rocks to flow into the Jarama River, a major tributary of the Tajo, the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula.-Water use:The Lozoya has been...

and Jarama rivers. The highest peak of the Cuerda Larga is the Cabezas de Hierro at 2,383 metres.

Between Cuerda Larga and the main extent of the Sierra de Guadarrama lies the Lozoya valley, one of the most picturesque mountain valleys of the Sistema Central, which attracts numerous tourists in the winter for skiing

Skiing

Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....

, as well as in the summer for other diversions. Another western branch of the Guadarramas, La Mujer Muerta (The Dead Woman), or Sierra del Quintanar (Quintanar Mountains), begins at the Fuenfría Pass (Puerto de la Fuenfría), and is located entirely in the province of Segovia. It is 11 km long and has several summits surpassing 2,000 metres, among them, the Montón de Trigo (Wheat

Wheat

Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...

Pile).

In addition to the Cuerda Larga and the La Mujer Muerta, a series of small mountains or foothills

Foothills

Foothills are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills to the adjacent topographically high mountains.-Examples:...

are located on the periphery of the main range. Notably, in the Segovia

Segovia

Segovia is a city in Spain, the capital of Segovia Province in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is situated north of Madrid, 30 minutes by high speed train. The municipality counts some 55,500 inhabitants.-Etymology:...

area, there are: the Cerro (hill) de las Cardosillas (1,635 m, 5,364 ft), the Cerro de Matabueyes (1,485 m, 4,872 ft), the Cerro del Caloco (1,565 m, 5,134 ft), and the Sierra de Ojos Albos (1,662 m, 5,452 ft); and, in the Madrid

Madrid

area (from north to south), there are the Cerro de San Pedro (1,423 m, 4,668 ft), the Sierra del Hoyo (1,404 m, 4,606 ft), the Cerro Cañal (1,331 m, 4,366 ft), and Las Machotas (1,466 m, 4,809 ft).

Notable peaks

The peaks of Guadarrama have a relatively soft silhouette, with few standing out as exceptionally larger than others in the chain:

Monte Abantos (1,753 m, 5,751 ft)
Bola del Mundo (2,265 m, 7,431 ft)
Cabezas de Hierro (2,383 m, 7,818 ft), highest of the Cuerda Larga
Dos Hermanas (2,285 m, 7,496 ft)
Flecha (2,078 m, 6,807 ft)
La Maliciosa (2,227 m, 7,306 ft)
La Najarra (2,108 m, 6,916 ft)
El Nevero (2,209 m, 7,227 ft); one of the most northern peaks in the mountain range
Pandasco (2,238 m, 7,342 ft)
Peña del Águila (2,010 m, 6,594 ft)
Peñalara
Peñalara
Peñalara is the highest mountain peak in the mountain range of Guadarrama, a subsection of Spain's larger Sistema Central mountain chain which lies at the center and divides the Iberian Peninsula. Straddling the provinces of Madrid and Segovia, Peñalara reaches a height of 2,428 metres above sea...

(2,428 m, 7,965 ft), the highest mountain of the Guadarramas
La Peñota (1,945 m, 6,381 ft)
Risco de los Claveles (2,387 m, 7,831 ft)
Risco de los Pájaros (2,334 m, 7,657 ft)
Siete Picos (2,138 m, 7,014 ft)
Montón de Trigo (2,161 m, 7,089 ft)
Cerro de Valdemartín (2,280 m, 7,480 ft)
El Yelmo (1,717 m, 5,633 ft), the most important peak of La Pedriza
La Pedriza
La Pedriza is a geological feature of great scenic and leisure interest. It is located on the southern slopes of the Guadarrama mountain range. Access is from Manzanares el Real, a municipality northwest of the Community of Madrid...

Geology

The Sierra de Guadarrama is the result of a clash between tectonic plates

Tectonic Plates

Tectonic Plates is a 1992 independent Canadian film directed by Peter Mettler. Mettler also wrote the screenplay based on the play by Robert Lepage. The film stars Marie Gignac, Céline Bonnier and Robert Lepage.-Plot summary:...

belonging to the South sub-plateau and the North sub-plateau, both part of the Iberian Peninsula's larger Meseta Central (Central Plateau). The mountain range was formed

Orogeny

Orogeny refers to forces and events leading to a severe structural deformation of the Earth's crust due to the engagement of tectonic plates. Response to such engagement results in the formation of long tracts of highly deformed rock called orogens or orogenic belts...

during the Cenozoic

Cenozoic

The Cenozoic era is the current and most recent of the three Phanerozoic geological eras and covers the period from 65.5 mya to the present. The era began in the wake of the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous that saw the demise of the last non-avian dinosaurs and...

era (starting 65.5 million years ago (mya)), although the predominant material of which the mountains are composed (granite

Granite

Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...

shelf tableland) was preexisting, having been laid down during the Variscan orogeny

Variscan orogeny

The Variscan orogeny is a geologic mountain-building event caused by Late Paleozoic continental collision between Euramerica and Gondwana to form the supercontinent of Pangaea.-Naming:...

during the Paleozoic

Paleozoic

The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...

era when the continental collision

Continental collision

Continental collision is a phenomenon of the plate tectonics of Earth that occurs at convergent boundaries. Continental collision is a variation on the fundamental process of subduction, whereby the subduction zone is destroyed, mountains produced, and two continents sutured together...

between Laurasia and Gondwana

Gondwana

In paleogeography, Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland, was the southernmost of two supercontinents that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent. It existed from approximately 510 to 180 million years ago . Gondwana is believed to have sutured between ca. 570 and 510 Mya,...

occurred to form Pangea. The mountains have undergone significant erosion since their formation, which is the reason why many peaks, especially in the northern and southern sections, have flattened summits (referred to by mountaineers as "cuerdas"). For these reasons, the material making up the Sierra de Guadarrama is of more ancient origin than many other well known mountain systems such as the Pyrenees

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...

, the Alps

Alps

The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

, the Andes

Andes

The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

and the Himalayas

Himalayas

The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...

Formation detail

In the mid Paleozoic era (between 360 and 290 mya), an initial substratum of ancient granites and sediments started bending and metamorphizing, forming gneiss

Gneiss

Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.-Etymology:...

. Thereafter, approximately 290 and 250 mya during the Carboniferous period

Carboniferous

The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...

, the gneiss fractured, allowed a mass of magma

Magma

Magma is a mixture of molten rock, volatiles and solids that is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and is expected to exist on other terrestrial planets. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and dissolved gas and sometimes also gas bubbles. Magma often collects in...

to reach the surface which ultimately hardened into a granite shelf tableland. In the final phase of the Paleozoic era, during the Permian period

Permian

The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...

, the tectonic plate collision causing the whole mountain range to rise. Finally, during the end of the Paleozoic through the Mesozoic era

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...

(between 250 and 65 mya) and up to the present, ongoing 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...

processes reduced the size and smoothed and rounded the profile of the mountains of the Guadarramas.

It was also during this geologic era that an ocean shift took place causing the present day location of the mountains to be part of the ocean for a time (it is possible, in fact, that the then peak formations were only small islands barely rising above the level of the ocean). This accounts for the presence of limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

(a sedimentary rock

Sedimentary rock

Sedimentary rock are types of rock that are formed by the deposition of material at the Earth's surface and within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles to settle and accumulate or minerals to precipitate from a solution....

formed predominantly from calcite

Calcite

Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite at 380-470°C, and vaterite is even less stable.-Properties:...

derived from marine organisms

Marine biology

Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...

) found in the rims of Guadaramma mountain peaks and in some of their interior cave

Cave

A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...

s. Limestone formations are evident at a number of the peaks — notably El Vellón, La Pinilla and Patones.

Other processes were at play during the Cenozoic era that shaped the present form of the Guadarammas. The erosion of the rocky massif

Massif

In geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole...

provoked sedimentation which filled the mountain basins with sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

. The action of glaciers during the Quaternary Period

Quaternary

The Quaternary Period is the most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the ICS. It follows the Neogene Period, spanning 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present...

(1.8 mya up to the present) shaped several mountain profiles with small cirques

Cirque (landform)

thumb|250 px|Two cirques with semi-permanent snowpatches in [[Abisko National Park]], [[Sweden]].A cirque or corrie is an amphitheatre-like valley head, formed at the head of a valley glacier by erosion...

, carved glacial lake

Glacial lake

A glacial lake is a lake with origins in a melted glacier. Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,000 years ago, glaciers began to retreat. A retreating glacier often left behind large deposits of ice in hollows between drumlins or hills. As the ice age ended, these melted to create...

s and left behind moraines. All three features can be found on Peñalara

Peñalara

. Additionally, some traces of glacial passage are found in El Nevero and La Maliciosa in the form of sheepback

Roche moutonnée

In glaciology, a roche moutonnée is a rock formation created by the passing of a glacier. When a glacier erodes down to bedrock, it can form tear-drop shaped hills that taper in the up-ice direction.-Name:...

-grooved rocks and small cirques. Finally, in the last million years, the action of glaciers caused consolidation of the network of rivers criss-crossing the mountain slopes, carved valleys and terraces resulting in the current appearance of the landscape.

Principal cities and towns

The Sierra de Guadarrama is surrounded by prominent population centers which feature many second residences, occupied during holiday periods. The population pressure on and nearby the southeast slopes of the mountains near the Community of Madrid is very high, motivated partly by the large quantity of people who wish to live near the mountains. The most important cities are San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Guadarrama

Guadarrama

Guadarrama is a town in the Community of Madrid in Spain.Pop: 13032 , approx. 60000 .Co-ordinates . not true...

, Navacerrada

Navacerrada

Navacerrada is a municipality of the Community of Madrid, Spain, located about 1,200 metres on the Reservoir Navacerrada and the entry of "Valle de la Barranca" in the Sierra de Guadarrama....

, Cercedilla

Cercedilla

Cercedilla is a municipality of the Community of Madrid, Spain. It is located in the Sierra de Guadarrama. It was the hometown of Francisco Fernández Ochoa , an alpine ski racer known for being the first Spaniard to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. He won the slalom in 1972 in Japan...

, Manzanares el Real

Manzanares el Real

Manzanares el Real is a 7,250 inhabitant town in the northern area of the autonomous Community of Madrid. It is located at the foot of The Pedriza, a part of the Sierra de Guadarrama, and next to the embalse de Santillana ....

, Miraflores de la Sierra

Miraflores de la Sierra

Miraflores de la Sierra is a town and municipality in the northern area of the autonomous Community of Madrid, in central Spain, of c. 6,000 inhabitants, located 49 kilometers away from Madrid.-History:...

and Rascafría

Rascafría

Rascafría is a municipality of the Community of Madrid, Spain.In its territory is the Monastery of Santa Maria de El Paular....

in the Community of Madrid, and Los Ángeles de San Rafael and San Ildefonso

San Ildefonso

San Ildefonso, or La Granja, or La Granja de San Ildefonso, is a town and municipality in the province of Segovia, Spain, situated some 54 km northwest of Madrid.-History:...

in the province of Segovia. These towns are departure points for accessing the nearby mountain slopes and function as a center of the tourism trade providing lodgings, restaurants and stores for visitors. Although these municipalities are located at the feet of the mountains, they are situated below 1,200 meters. The Sierra de Guadarrama serves as backdrop for the cities of Madrid and Segovia, although Segovia is located closer to the peaks than is Madrid.

Places of interest

The Sierra de Guadarrama has a series of valleys and zones which are of special interest from both an aesthetic and ecological

Ecology

Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...

viewpoint. Due to the proximity of Madrid's metropolitan area to the Guadarramas, many such special interest zones are host to a large number of mountain climbers and general interest tourists the year round. The most heavily visited areas are the Parque Natural de Peñalara (Peñalara Natural Park

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...

) and La Pedriza
La Pedriza
La Pedriza is a geological feature of great scenic and leisure interest. It is located on the southern slopes of the Guadarrama mountain range. Access is from Manzanares el Real, a municipality northwest of the Community of Madrid...

, an unusual mountain formation.

Valle (valley) de la Fuenfría:An eastern valley

Valley

In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...

situated nearby the City of Cercedilla (Community of Madrid) featuring one of the better preserved wild pine

Pine

Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...

forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

s of the mountains. The valleys faces in a north to south direction, has a length of approximately 5 km, a width of approximately 2 km and is located between Siete Picos and the edge of the province of Segovia

Segovia (province)

. The valley's dense forest features a deep creek and a well-preserved, ancient Roman road

Roman road

The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...

that crosses the mountain running toward the Fuenfría Pass . On weekends and holidays the valley is flooded with tourists and mountain climbers who debark at a recreation area with a car park found at the valley's lower edge.

Valle de Valsaín:Like the Fuenfría, the Valsaín valley is also covered by a well-preserved pine tree woodland, considered the best of the Guadarramas. It is a wide, sloped valley running in a north to south direction, having a length of approximately 10 km, an average width of 5 km, and is located between the mountains, Mujer Muerta and the bulk of Peñalara

Peñalara

. On its lower slopes is the municipality of Valsain, named after the valley. In the heart of the valley, amidst the pine and 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...

groves, there are three separate recreation centers, each with areas for parking. Nearby these areas are a number of man-made Eresma river dams that create small pools perfect for bathing in the summer. Several paths begin in the recreation area that crisscross the whole of the woodsy valley.

La Pedriza:The Pedriza is one of the more exceptional areas of the mountain range. It is located on the south slope of the Cuerda Larga, in the municipal area of Manzanares el Real (part of the province of Madrid) and inside the Parque Regional (Regional Park) de la Cuenca Alta del Manzanares. The Pedriza's landscape is noted for its enormous rock formations and walls of granite

Granite

displaying unusual and eye-catching configurations. Below the high rocky areas is an underbrush made up of rockroses

Cistaceae

The Cistaceae is a small family of plants known for its beautiful shrubs, which are profusely covered by flowers at the time of blossom...

and savin junipers

Juniperus sabina

Juniperus sabina is a species of juniper native to the mountains of central and southern Europe and western and central Asia, from Spain east to eastern Siberia, typically growing at altitudes of 1,000-3,300 m....

which become a pine thicket farther way from the rock face. At the heart of the small valleys that make up La Pedriza runs the Manzanares river at the high river basin

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

of its course. In the low part of the area is a recreational area with parking accommodations which allows visitors several routes to cross the territory. The most esteemed and sensational peak of La Pedriza, as well as its largest, is El Yelmo (The Helmet), a gigantic granite rockface towering over the surrounding peaks, rising to 1,700 m in elevation. El Yelmo's south face presents a massive stone wall that is highly-prized by advanced mountain climbers. Throughout its history, La Pedriza's complex of caves was used as a hideout by exile

Exile

Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...

s and by those seeking shelter during times of war.

Peñalara's cirques and lakes: On the south slope of the Sierra de Guadarrama's highest peak, Peñalara

Peñalara

(2,428 m), is a protected area considered to be of exceptional beauty and which has been declared a nature reserve

Nature reserve

A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

under the title Parque Natural de Peñalara; the only area of the Guadarramas to receive such official designation. In the reserve are found, three cirques and a series of lakes, all the handiwork of ancient glacial

Glacier

A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...

action. Peñalara's cirques take the form of walls rising more than 300 meters in the shape of a "U". Several small lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

s are found in the areas surrounding the cirques, up to a height of approximately 2,000 m, which give rise to streams and small waterfall

Waterfall

A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...

s during spring thaws. Most outstanding of these are the Laguna Grande(Great lake), the Laguna Chica (Small lake), the Lagunas de los Claveles (Lake of the Claveles) and the Laguna de los Pájaros (Lagoon of the Birds). Below 2,000 m, wild pine forests are also found in the designated zone. In the heights of the nature reserve are prairies in which high mountain shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

s dominate the terrain. The reserve is accessed by three routes feeding to and from the Puerto de Cotos.

Valle del Lozoya:The Valle del Lozoya is the most extensive valley of the Sierra de Guadarrama range and one of the best conserved. It is located entirely within the Community of Madrid, between the Cuerda Larga and the main alignment of the mountain system, running in a southwest to northeast direction, and located, with respect the range as a whole, at its northeast stretch. The valley is more than 25 km in length and 6 km in average width. The slopes of the valley are covered with wild pine, oak and chestnut

Chestnut

Chestnut , some species called chinkapin or chinquapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.-Species:The chestnut belongs to the...

forests. By contrast, the lower valley area is dominated by grass

Grass

Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

pastures and farm crops

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

. In the heart of the valley are two towns: Rascafría and Lozoya, both of which lend their names to the two rivers that run through the valley.

Hydrography

The climate of the Sierra de Guadarrama is marked by heavy precipitation

Precipitation (meteorology)

In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...

which gives birth the territory's numerous streams and rivers. There are several rivers of special relevance. The range's Segovia facing slopes give rise to the Moros and Eresma rivers, with the latter flowing through the City of Segovia

Segovia

. The Madrid facing slopes give rise to the Guadarrama river (from which the range and the town of Guadarrama

Guadarrama

Guadarrama is a town in the Community of Madrid in Spain.Pop: 13032 , approx. 60000 .Co-ordinates . not true...

takes their names), the Manzanares river, that passes by Madrid, and the Lozoya river

Lozoya River

(location of the El Atazar Dam

El Atazar Dam

El Atazar Dam is an arch dam built near Madrid, Spain on the Lozoya River, very close to where the Lozoya joins the Jarama. It is the oldest dome dam in the world. The curved design of the dam is optimum for the narrow gorge in which it was built to retain water in the reservoir...

), that passes by its namesake valley. On the South slope of the peak of Peñalara, at 2,200 m of elevation, there is a series of small, protected lakes of glacial

Glacier

origin.

Although the mountain range proper features a great number of dams

DAMS

Driot-Arnoux Motorsport is a racing team from France, involved in many areas of motorsports. DAMS was founded in 1988 by Jean-Paul Driot and former Formula One driver René Arnoux. It is headquartered near Le Mans, only 2 km from the Bugatti Circuit.- History :The year after its foundation,...

, they are all of small volume. In the Segovia facing slopes, the more prominent dams are Peces, Revenga, Pontón and Pirón, while on the Madrid facing slopes are found the Tobar, Jarosa, Navacerrada and Pinilla. Outside the boundaries of the mountain range, in the Community of Madrid, there are three dams of much greater size: the Valmayor, Santillana and Pardo.

Flora and fauna

The flora and fauna of the Sierra de Guadarrama is very diverse, reflecting something of a synthesis between species common to the mediterranean landscape and climate of Spain's Central Plateau, and the more specialized plants and animals native to the higher altitude and mountainous terrain of the Pyrenees

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...

and Alps

Alps

The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

Flora

The high slopes of the mountains are covered in Alpine grasses which are extensively used as grazing land for cattle. The meat that these cattle produce is of excellent quality and is specially denominated and certified as Ternera de Guadarrama ("Veal of Guadarrama"). Below the high mountain pastures, in the subalpine and mountainous flats, are some of the best natural scots pine

Scots Pine

(Pinus sylvestris) forests in Spain.

Below the pine forests, the middle elevations are covered by groves of Pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica), which sometimes encroach on the higher pine belt; this is problematic as Pyrenean oak have a protected conservation status and cannot be felled without dispensation from national park authorities. Nevertheless, controlled logging is allowed every year with the felled trees used to supply firewood

Firewood

Firewood is any wood-like material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form....

to local mountain villages.

The westernmost area of the mountain range shows a change in species distribution and variety, with a predominance of stone pine

Stone Pine

The Stone Pine , is also called Italian Stone Pine, or Umbrella Pine , and Parasol Pine. It is in the pine family Pinaceae and occasionally listed under the invalid name Pinus sativa. The tree is native to the Mediterranean region...

(Pinus pinea) in place of scots-pine, and Portuguese oak

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...

and Holm oak in place of Pyrenean oak due to the lower elevations and higher precipitation of the region.

List of plant species

Trees:European Black Pine

European Black Pine

Pinus nigra, the European Black Pine, is a moderately variable species of pine, occurring across southern Mediterranean Europe from Spain to the Crimea, in Asia Minor and on Cyprus, and in the high mountains of the Maghreb in North Africa....

, Maritime Pine

Maritime Pine

Pinus pinaster, the Maritime Pine, is a pine native to the western and southwestern Mediterranean region. The pejorative name 'pinaster' is derived from pinus + aster, translating as 'a poor imitation of a pine' Pinus pinaster, the Maritime Pine, is a pine native to the western and southwestern...

, Scots Pine

Scots Pine

and Mountain Pine

Mountain Pine

Pinus mugo, the Mountain Pine or Mugo Pine, is a high-altitude European pine, found in the Pyrenees, Alps, Erzgebirge, Carpathians, northern Apennines and Balkan Peninsula mountains from 1,000 m to 2,200 m, occasionally as low as 200 m in the north of the range in Germany and Poland, and as high...

; Holly

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....

, 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...

, Maple

Maple

Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...

, Hazel

Hazel

The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins...

, Boxwood

Buxus

Buxus is a genus of about 70 species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood ....

, Beech

Fagaceae

The family Fagaceae, or beech family, comprises about 900 species of both evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs, which are characterized by alternate simple leaves with pinnate venation, unisexual flowers in the form of catkins, and fruit in the form of cup-like nuts. Fagaceous leaves are often...

, Holm Oak

Holm Oak

Quercus ilex, the Holm Oak or Holly Oak is a large evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean region. It takes its name from holm, an ancient name for holly...

, Portuguese oak

Portuguese Oak

, Pyrenean oak, Savin Junipers

Juniperus sabina

, Rowan

Rowan

The rowans or mountain-ashes are shrubs or small trees in genus Sorbus of family Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the mountains of western China and the Himalaya, where numerous apomictic microspecies...

and Yew

Taxus baccata

Taxus baccata is a conifer native to western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa, northern Iran and southwest Asia. It is the tree originally known as yew, though with other related trees becoming known, it may be now known as the English yew, or European yew.-Description:It is a small-...

.
Shrubs: 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....

, French Lavender

Lavandula stoechas

Lavandula stoechas occurs naturally in the Mediterranean region.-Description:A perennial shrub, it usually grows to 30–100 cm tall and wide...

, Common Juniper

Juniperus communis

Juniperus communis, the Common Juniper, is a species in the genus Juniperus, in the family Cupressaceae. It has the largest range of any woody plant, throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic south in mountains to around 30°N latitude in North America, Europe and Asia.-...

, Bearberry

Bearberry

Bearberries are three species of dwarf shrubs in the genus Arctostaphylos. Unlike the other species of Arctostaphylos , they are adapted to Arctic and sub-Arctic climates, and have a circumpolar distribution in northern North America, Asia and Europe, one with a small highly disjunctive population...

, 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...

, rockroses

Cistaceae

The Cistaceae is a small family of plants known for its beautiful shrubs, which are profusely covered by flowers at the time of blossom...

, Common Hawthorn

Common Hawthorn

Crataegus monogyna, known as common hawthorn or single-seeded hawthorn, is a species of hawthorn native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia. It has been introduced in many other parts of the world where it is an invasive weed...

, Fabaceae

Fabaceae

The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...

, Boiss

Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbiaceae, the Spurge family are a large family of flowering plants with 300 genera and around 7,500 species. Most are herbs, but some, especially in the tropics, are also shrubs or trees. Some are succulent and resemble cacti....

, Rosemary

Rosemary

Rosemary, , is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which includes many other herbs, and is one of two species in the genus Rosmarinus...

and Thyme

Thyme

Thyme is a culinary and medicinal herb of the genus Thymus.-History:Ancient Egyptians used thyme for embalming. The ancient Greeks used it in their baths and burnt it as incense in their temples, believing it was a source of courage...

.
Prevalent pine grove fungi: Morel

Morel

Morchella, the true morels, is a genus of edible mushrooms closely related to anatomically simpler cup fungi. These distinctive mushrooms appear honeycomb-like in that the upper portion is composed of a network of ridges with pits between them....

, Saffron milk cap

Lactarius deliciosus

Lactarius deliciosus, commonly known as the Saffron milk cap, Red pine mushroom, is one of the best known members of the large milk-cap genus Lactarius in the order Russulales...

, Lepiota

Lepiota

Lepiota is a genus of gilled mushrooms in the family Agaricaceae. All Lepiota species are ground-dwelling saprotrophs with a preference for rich, calcareous soils. Basidiocarps are agaricoid with whitish spores, typically with scaly caps and a ring on the stem. Around 400 species of Lepiota are...

, chanterelle

Cantharellus

Cantharellus is a genus of popular edible mushrooms, commonly known as chanterelles . They are mycorrhizal fungi, meaning they form symbiotic associations with plants, making them very difficult to cultivate...

and King trumpet mushroom

Pleurotus eryngii

Pleurotus eryngii is an edible mushroom native to Mediterranean regions of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, but also grown in parts of Asia.In Italian it is called cardoncello; in Chinese, it is called xìng bào gū Pleurotus eryngii (also known as king trumpet mushroom, French horn...

Fauna

As might be expected in such an important ecosystem, there is a great variety of wildlife, with mammals such as Spanish Ibex, roe deer

Roe Deer

, fallow deer

Fallow Deer

, wild boar, badger

Badger

Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...

, various types of weasel

Mustelidae

, European wild cat

Wild cat

, fox

Fox

and hare

Hare

among others. Birds are also well represented with such specialities as Citril Finch and Crested Tit as well as the usual waterfowl, especially in the Embalse de Santillana (Santillana Reservoir). birds of prey

Bird of prey

include the impressive Spanish Imperial Eagle

Spanish Imperial Eagle

and Eurasian Black Vulture

Eurasian Black Vulture

. In fact, the animal species inhabiting the Guadarramas represent 45% of the fauna of Spain and 18% of those in Europe as a whole.

The Guadarramas are also a migration route for many species of bird including crane

Crane (bird)

Cranes are a family, Gruidae, of large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the order Gruiformes. There are fifteen species of crane in four genera. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back...

and black stork. Endangered species that inhabit the range include Spanish Imperial Eagle

Spanish Imperial Eagle

and the Eurasian wolf

Eurasian Wolf

The 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...

List of animal species

Reptiles and amphibians: Various snake

Snake

Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...

s both smooth and viperous, the Iberian endemic Mountain Lizard (iberolacerta cyreni), Alpine Newt and Fire Salamander

Salamander

Salamander is a common name of approximately 500 species of amphibians. They are typically characterized by a superficially lizard-like appearance, with their slender bodies, short noses, and long tails. All known fossils and extinct species fall under the order Caudata, while sometimes the extant...

.

Mammals: Squirrel

Squirrel

Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...

, weasel

Weasel

Weasels are mammals forming the genus Mustela of the Mustelidae family. They are small, active predators, long and slender with short legs....

, Spanish Ibex, rabbit

Rabbit

Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...

, roe deer

Roe Deer

, genets

Genet (animal)

Genets are Old World mammals from the order Carnivora, family Viverridae, related to civets and linsangs. All species are contained within the genus Genetta, although the Aquatic Genet is sometimes housed in its own genus Osbornictis....

, boar

Boar

Wild boar, also wild pig, is a species of the pig genus Sus, part of the biological family Suidae. The species includes many subspecies. It is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig, an animal with which it freely hybridises...

, hare

Hare

, garden dormouse

Garden dormouse

The garden dormouse is a rodent in the dormouse family.- Features :Garden dormice are typically in length, with the tail adding an additional . They weigh . The coat is gray or brown, with a white underside...

, Eurasian wolf

Eurasian Wolf

, badger

Badger

Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...

and fox

Fox

.

Birds: Citril Finch, Iberian Pied Flycatcher, Southern Grey Shrike, European bee-eater

European Bee-eater

The European Bee-eater, Merops apiaster, is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It breeds in southern Europe and in parts of north Africa and western Asia. It is strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, India and Sri Lanka...

, hoopoe

Hoopoe

The Hoopoe is a colourful bird that is found across Afro-Eurasia, notable for its distinctive 'crown' of feathers. It is the only extant species in the family Upupidae. One insular species, the Giant Hoopoe of Saint Helena, is extinct, and the Madagascar subspecies of the Hoopoe is sometimes...

, short-toed treecreeper

Short-toed Treecreeper

The Short-toed Treecreeper, Certhia brachydactyla, is a small passerine bird found in woodlands through much of the warmer regions of Europe and into north Africa. It has a generally more southerly distribution than the other European treecreeper species, the Common Treecreeper, with which it is...

, jay

Jay

The jays are several species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the crow family Corvidae. The names jay and magpie are somewhat interchangeable, and the evolutionary relationships are rather complex...

, great tit

Great Tit

The Great Tit is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common species throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central and Northern Asia, and parts of North Africa in any sort of woodland. It is generally resident, and most Great Tits do not migrate except in extremely...

, Eurasian woodcock

Eurasian Woodcock

The Eurasian Woodcock, Scolopax rusticola, is a medium-small wading bird found in temperate and subarctic Eurasia. It has cryptic camouflage to suit its woodland habitat, with reddish-brown upperparts and buff-coloured underparts...

, wren

Wren

The wrens are passerine birds in the mainly New World family Troglodytidae. There are approximately 80 species of true wrens in approximately 20 genera....

, chough

Chough

The Red-billed Chough or Chough , Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax, is a bird in the crow family; it is one of only two species in the genus Pyrrhocorax...

, crested tit

Crested Tit

The Crested Tit, Lophophanes cristatus , is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder in coniferous forests throughout central and northern Europe and in deciduous woodland in France and the Iberian peninsula...

, blue tit

Blue Tit

The Blue Tit is a 10.5 to 12 cm long passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and western Asia in deciduous or mixed woodlands...

, kingfisher

Kingfisher

Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...

, white-throated Dipper

White-throated Dipper

The White-throated Dipper , also known as the European Dipper or just Dipper is an aquatic passerine bird found in Europe, Middle East, Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. The species is divided into several subspecies, based primarily on colour differences, particularly of the pectoral band...

, blackbird, Firecrest, golden oriole

Golden Oriole

The Eurasian Golden Oriole or simply Golden Oriole is the only member of the oriole family of passerine birds breeding in northern hemisphere temperate regions...

, European Robin

European Robin

The European Robin , most commonly known in Anglophone Europe simply as the Robin, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family , but is now considered to be an Old World flycatcher...

Birds of prey: Golden Eagle

Golden Eagle

The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...

, booted eagle

Booted Eagle

The Booted Eagle is a medium-sized bird of prey. It is about in length and has a wingspan of . Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae....

and short-toed eagle

Short-toed Eagle

The Short-toed Snake Eagle also known as Short-toed Eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers.-Range and habitat:...

, Eurasian Black Vulture

Eurasian Black Vulture

and Griffon Vulture

Griffon Vulture

The Griffon Vulture is a large Old World vulture in the bird of prey family Accipitridae.The Griffon Vulture is long with a wingspan. In the nominate race the males weigh and females typically weigh , while in the Indian subspecies the vultures average...

, Eagle Owl, Tawny owl

Tawny Owl

The Tawny Owl or Brown Owl is a stocky, medium-sized owl commonly found in woodlands across much of Eurasia. Its underparts are pale with dark streaks, and the upperparts are either brown or grey. Several of the eleven recognised subspecies have both variants...

and Little Owl

Little Owl

The Little Owl is a bird which is resident in much of the temperate and warmer parts of Europe, Asia east to Korea, and north Africa. It is not native to Great Britain, but was first introduced in 1842, and is now naturalised there...

, Peregrine falcon

Falcon

A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....

, Red Kite

Red Kite

The Red Kite is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species is currently endemic to the Western Palearctic region in Europe and northwest Africa, though formerly also occurred just...

and both Common and Honey Buzzard.

Waterfowl: Mallard

Mallard

The Mallard , or Wild Duck , is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia....

, Coot

Coot

Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family Rallidae. They constitute the genus Fulica. Coots have predominantly black plumage, and, unlike many of the rails, they are usually easy to see, often swimming in open water...

, grey heron

Grey Heron

The Grey Heron , is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in the milder south and west, but many birds retreat in winter from the ice in colder regions...

and Little and Great Crested Grebe

Grebe

A grebe is a member of the Podicipediformes order, a widely distributed order of freshwater diving birds, some of which visit the sea when migrating and in winter...

Climate

The Guadarramas have climatic features

Mediterranean 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...

, characterized by considerable temperatures changes between summer and winter and a very dry summer. But, as in any mountainous zone, the climate on the mountains proper changes markedly with increases in height, and can be differentiated into discrete climatic zones.

Between 800m and 1,400m, the average annual temperature is 10-11 °C, with a summer high of 28°C and winter low of -6°C. Average annual precipitation

Precipitation (meteorology)

is between 700 and 800 mm, predominantly in non-summer months. At this elevation, much of the precipitation falls as snow, between December and February, although there are always exceptions, and the snow rarely remains unmelted for more than three days. It is in this region that all cities and the majority of people live; this also means that of all distinguished elevations, it is the most susceptible to damage from human traffic and intrusion.

Between 1,400 and 2,000 meters, the average annual temperature is 8-9°C, with a summer high of 25°C and winter low of -8°C. Average annual precipitation increases with the height to 900-1,000 mm, again primarily during the non-summer season in the form of snow, but between December and April. Much of the snow remains on the ground for the duration of the winter, especially on the range's north slope.
Between 2,000 and 2,428 meters, the average annual temperature is between 6-7°C, with a summer high of 22°C and a winter low of -12°C. Average annual precipitation is between 1,200 and 2,500 mm, mostly snowfall between November and May which remains all winter and into the spring.

In summary, the climate of the Guadarramas is quite humid, more so than that of the rest of the Meseta Central (Central Plateau), and generally cold, increasing with altitude. In the peaks the wind is usually very intense and thunderstorms in the mountains are more frequent than in the plateau.

Average temperatures by altitude

Altitude	Temperature in winter (day/night)	Temperature in spring and autumn (day/night)	Temperature in summer (day/night)
2,428 m - 2,000 m	-1 °C / -9 °C	8 °C / -3 °C	20 °C / 5 °C
2,000 m - 1,400 m	3 °C / -3 °C	11 °C / 5 °C	23 °C / 7 °C
1,400 m - 800 m	3 °C / -3 °C	15 °C / 7 °C	25 °C / 11 °C

Through routes

As it forms a natural barrier, the Guadarramas are crossed by important routes through the mountains linking the north and south of the Iberian Peninsula. The routes date back to Roman times with the construction of their famous roads, one of which starts in the town of Cercedilla, crosses the mountains and terminates at the Fuenfría Pass. Although the road is still present with some original stone, it was rendered obsolete by a number of roads built during the mid-18th century: the Guadarrama Pass, or "del León" route, serviced by national highway six, running from Madrid to Coruña

A Coruña

A Coruña or La Coruña is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It is the second-largest city in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country...

(although another freeway, AP-6, which tunnels through the mountains, can also be used); the Navacerrada Pass highway passage between Madrid and Segovia; and the Somosierra pass, through which runs the Autovía del Norte, along with the Madrid to Irun

Irun

Irun is a town of the Bidasoa-Txingudi region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain...

railway.

The mountains are crossed by a number of separate rail routes between Madrid

Madrid

and Ávila, Segovia

Segovia

and Burgos

Burgos

Burgos is a city of northern Spain, historic capital of Castile. It is situated at the edge of the central plateau, with about 178,966 inhabitants in the city proper and another 20,000 in its suburbs. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León...

, connecting the capital to the north of the country. These lines are already considered antiquated, and will be partially replaced with the new high speed Alta Velocidad Española

AVE

Alta Velocidad Española is a service of high-speed rail in Spain operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company, at speeds of up to . The name is literally translated from Spanish as "Spanish High Speed", but also a play on the word , meaning "bird".AVE trains run on a network of...

("Spanish High Speed") trains, with tunnels between Miraflores de la Sierra and Segovia. The AVE can achieve speeds of up to 300 km/h on dedicated tracks. The AVE route between Madrid and Segovia is already open, and the network is slowly being expanded further north.

History

For much of its history the central part of the range, including the forests and grassland

Grassland

Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...

s on both sides of the mountains, was associated with the city of Segovia, at least as far back as its Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

control under the name of Segóbriga. However, after the creation of the province of Madrid to meet the requirements of the Spanish Court

Spanish Royal Family

The Royal Family of the Kingdom of Spain consists of the current king, Juan Carlos, his spouse, Queen Sofia of Spain and their direct descendants. The Spanish royal family belongs to the House of Borbón...

, the political designation of the mountains was distributed between the two provinces. Today the range is more often associated with Madrid

Madrid

given that city's prominence as Spain's capital.

The Guadarramas' role as a natural barrier has been of importance in many of the armed conflicts that have afflicted Spain. For centuries the range constituted a border between the Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

kingdoms to the north and Muslims kingdoms to the south, during the times of Reconquest

Reconquista

The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...

. The legacy of that epoch can be seen in the splendid medieval

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

walled cities occupying both sides of the mountains, such as Buitrago de Lozoya and Manzanares el Real in Madrid, and the Castillo de Pedraza in Segovia.

In 1808, during the Peninsular War

Peninsular War

The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...

fought by Spain against invaders from France, the Battle of Somosierra

Battle of Somosierra

The Battle of Somosierra occurred November 30, 1808 in the Peninsular War, when a French army under Napoleon I forced a passage through the Sierra de Guadarrama shielding Madrid....

took place at the range's Somosierra Pass, where the Spanish were defeated by Napoleonic

Napoleon I of France

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

troops composed principally of Polish lancers. Likewise, throughout the Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

of the 1930s, the range comprised an important front with skirmishes fought in the mountain passes. Today, trenches and gun emplacements still survive along the line of the mountains' summits.

The Guadarramas, as a result of their proximity to high population centers of cultural and educational importance, was one of the first areas of Spain where natural resources

Natural Resources

Natural Resources is a soul album released by Motown girl group Martha Reeves and the Vandellas in 1970 on the Gordy label. The album is significant for the Vietnam War ballad "I Should Be Proud" and the slow jam, "Love Guess Who"...

and the study of nature

Nature

Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...

came to be valued, both for economic and educational reasons. This culminated in the establishment of the Institución Libre de Enseñanza (Free Institution of Education) in 1876, which advocated an assimilation into Madrid's cultural values of the nearby mountain range's natural beauty. By the 1920s, there was a call to declare the entire range a protected national park

National park

A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...

; a notion that is still unrealized but has support today.

Monuments and structures of interest

The magnificent scenery, the balmy summer climate and, especially, the proximity to Madrid and Segovia have resulted in the erection of many striking buildings and monuments on the hillsides of the Sierra de Guadarrama.

The Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial

El Escorial

The Royal Seat of San Lorenzo de El Escorial is a historical residence of the king of Spain, in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, about 45 kilometres northwest of the capital, Madrid, in Spain. It is one of the Spanish royal sites and functions as a monastery, royal palace, museum, and...

, is an immense palace, Augustinian monastery, museum, and library complex located at San Lorenzo de El Escorial

San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Madrid

San Lorenzo de El Escorial, also known as El Escorial de Arriba is a town and municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain, located to the northwest of the region in the southeastern side of the Sierra de Guadarrama, at the foot of Mount Abantos and Las Machotas, from Madrid. It is head of the...

. Designed by the architects Juan Bautista de Toledo

Juan Bautista de Toledo

Juan Bautista de Toledo. Spanish architect educated in Italy, in the Italian High Renaissance. As many Italian renaissance architects, he had experience in both architecture and military and civil public works. Born, either in Toledo or in Madrid around 1515. Died May 19, 1567 in Madrid...

and Juan de Herrera

Juan de Herrera

Juan de Herrera was a Spanish architect, mathematician and geometrician.One of the most outstanding Spanish architects in the 16th century, Herrera represents the peak of the Renaissance in Spain. His sober style was fully developed in buildings like the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial...

in an austere classical style, and built from 1563 to 1584, it is shaped as a grid in memory of the martyrdom of Saint Lawrence

Saint Lawrence

Lawrence of Rome was one of the seven deacons of ancient Rome who were martyred during the persecution of Valerian in 258.- Holy Chalice :...

. The complex has an enormous store of art, including masterworks by Titian

Titian

Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...

, Tintoretto

Tintoretto

Tintoretto , real name Jacopo Comin, was a Venetian painter and a notable exponent of the Renaissance school. For his phenomenal energy in painting he was termed Il Furioso...

, El Greco

El Greco

El Greco was a painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El Greco" was a nickname, a reference to his ethnic Greek origin, and the artist normally signed his paintings with his full birth name in Greek letters, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος .El Greco was born on Crete, which was at...

, Velázquez

Diego Velázquez

Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez was a Spanish painter who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important as a portrait artist...

, Roger van der Weyden

Roger van der Weyden

Rogier van der Weyden or Rogier de le Pasture was an Early Flemish painter. His surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces and commissioned single and diptych portraits. Although his life was generally uneventful, he was highly successful and internationally famous in his...

, Paolo Veronese

Paolo Veronese

Paolo Veronese was an Italian painter of the Renaissance in Venice, famous for paintings such as The Wedding at Cana and The Feast in the House of Levi...

, Alonso Cano

Alonzo Cano

Alonzo Cano or Alonso Cano was a Spanish painter, architect and sculptor born in Granada. He learned architecture from his father, Miguel Cano; painting in the academy of Juan del Castillo, and from Francisco Pacheco the teacher of Velázquez; and sculpture from Juan Martínez Montañés...

, José de Ribera, Claudio Coello

Claudio Coello

Claudio Coello was a Spanish Baroque painter. Influenced by many other artists, including Diego Velázquez who was also of Portuguese descent, Coello is considered the last great Spanish painter of the 17th century....

and others; its library containing thousands of priceless ancient manuscripts; and the complex has been designated an UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

.

In the north face of Monte Abantos, surrounded by thick pine groves, is the Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos

Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos

The Valley of the Fallen is a Catholic basilica and a monumental memorial in the municipality of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, erected at Cuelgamuros Valley in the Sierra de Guadarrama, near Madrid, conceived by Spanish dictator Francisco Franco to honour and bury those who fell during the Spanish...

("Holy Cross of the Valley of the Fallen"). Conceived by General Francisco Franco

Francisco Franco

Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...

to honor those killed during the Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War

, the monument contains beneath it the remains of 40,000 fallen soldiers, as well as a basilica in which Franco himself is interred. Above rises a massive granite cross — 150 meters high — which is visible from as far away as 50 kilometers.

In Rascafría, in the center of the Lozoya valley, lies the Monasterio de Santa María de El Paular ("Monastery of Santa María of Paular"). Surrounded by scenic mountainscapes, the monastery features a large cloister

Cloister

A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...

and dates to the late 14th century. It was constructed at the behest of king Henry II of Castile and in 1876 was declared a Spanish National Monument.

The castillo de Manzanares ("Castle of Manzanares"), is a medieval fort in the municipality of Manzanares el Real, at the foot of La Pedriza
La Pedriza
La Pedriza is a geological feature of great scenic and leisure interest. It is located on the southern slopes of the Guadarrama mountain range. Access is from Manzanares el Real, a municipality northwest of the Community of Madrid...

. It is composed of several cylindrical towers and dates to the 15th century.

In the town of Pedraza, is a namesake medieval castle, castillo de Pedraza. The citadel

Citadel

A citadel is a fortress for protecting a town, sometimes incorporating a castle. The term derives from the same Latin root as the word "city", civis, meaning citizen....

rises on a hill protecting the town. It dates to the 14th century and an expansion during the 16th century. Although at one time in disrepair, the castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

was restored in modern times and is in a good state of preservation. The structure is protected on all sides by its original, ancient walls, lending a medieval ambience to the surroundings.

In the municipality of San Ildefonso

San Ildefonso

San Ildefonso, or La Granja, or La Granja de San Ildefonso, is a town and municipality in the province of Segovia, Spain, situated some 54 km northwest of Madrid.-History:...

in Castile and León

Castile and León

Castile and León is an autonomous community in north-western Spain. It was so constituted in 1983 and it comprises the historical regions of León and Old Castile...

lies the Baroque

Baroque

The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

style Palacio Real de la Granja de San Ildefonso, a royal residence actually used in summer by Spanish nobility. It was commissioned by Philip V of Spain

Philip V of Spain

Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...

in 1724. The palace's extensive gardens feature numerous sculptures of mythological beings which are highly prized for their artistic value. The gardens were based on those King Philip V had known during his childhood in the French royal court

French monarchs family tree

Below are the family trees of all French monarchs, from Pepin the Short to Louis Philippe I. Earlier kings are included in the list of Frankish kings. Monarchs from the House of Bonaparte are excluded from this article.-Carolingian Dynasty :...

Protected zones

Today two high traffic areas of the Guadarrama mountains have achieved protected nature reserve status:

The Parque Regional de la Cuenca Alta del Manzanares ("High River basin Regional Park of the Manzanares"), located in the Community of Madrid; the first Sierra de Guadarrama zone to receive protected status. When the designation was first granted it included only La Pedriza (an area including a number of peaks, valleys and rivers in the Guadarramas), but later it was extended to cover the Monte de El Pardo — a densely forested area to the north of Madrid, covering more than 470 square kilometres (181 mile²).
The Parque Natural de la Cumbre, Circo y Lagunas de Peñalara ( Peñalara's Summit, Cirques and Lakes Natural Park"). The natural park is much smaller and more recently designated than the preceding one, only covering the tallest part of the massif
Massif
In geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole...

of Peñalara
Peñalara
Peñalara is the highest mountain peak in the mountain range of Guadarrama, a subsection of Spain's larger Sistema Central mountain chain which lies at the center and divides the Iberian Peninsula. Straddling the provinces of Madrid and Segovia, Peñalara reaches a height of 2,428 metres above sea...

(at 2,428 m the highest mountain in the Sierra de Guadarrama) and one of few glaciers formations of the whole Sistema Central, with three small cirques, two moraine
Moraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...

s, and almost twenty glacial lakes.

Proposed National Park

For some years a proposal to designate the range as a national park (Parque Nacional de Guadarrama) has been under discussion. This would help protect the range from degradation

Environmental degradation

Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife...

caused by the heavy human traffic as a result of its proximity to large cities such as Madrid. At the time of writing, the proposal has yet to be agreed.

Myths and legends

Over the centuries the mountains and surrounding areas have been inhabited several myths and legends specific to the region have developed:
The Shepherd's Chasm: It is believed that in the mountains nearby San Lorenzo de El Escorial

San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Madrid

a secret treasure cache lies buried. Many have prospected in the region searching for this illusive trove.

This legend holds that a certain Rafael Corraliza who managed the rich financial affairs of the Monastery of San Lorenzo, was lured by devilish greed to plunder the monastery's treasury of Doubloon

Doubloon

The doubloon , was a two-escudo or 32-reales gold coin, weighing 6.77 grams . Doubloons were minted in Spain, Mexico, Peru, and Nueva Granada...

s. Corraliza then absconded, heading for sanctuary in Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

. He stole out at night taking a mountain footpath that led to the nearest village, Robledondo. However, upon attempted to traverse the mountain area known as the Shepherd's Chasm, named for a deep mountain crevasse, a saint overwatching the monastery, caused him to fall into the chasm, thus swallowing up both him and the stolen gold. In the course of time, the abyss was covered with branches and stones for fear that cattle or any poor devil could suffer the same fate as Corraliza.

The Boulder of the Dead: The name of this legend comes from a namesake peculiar rock formation in La Pedriza
La Pedriza
La Pedriza is a geological feature of great scenic and leisure interest. It is located on the southern slopes of the Guadarrama mountain range. Access is from Manzanares el Real, a municipality northwest of the Community of Madrid...

. The story is that a group of three brigands kidnap a young woman of a rich and powerful Madrid family. While the chief of the band is temporarily away, the two remaining bandits decide to rape the young woman. Upon the chief's unexpected return, he attempts to throw each of them over the cliff above the namesake boulder as quick justice. The first is done successfully but the second grabs the leg of the ringleader as they struggle at the brink of the precipice, and they both plummet to their deaths on the rocks below. According to local people, for a time the corpses of the three bandits could be seen in a crack of the rocks.

Description

Etymology of the name

General information

Notable peaks

Geology

Formation detail

Principal cities and towns

Places of interest

Hydrography

Flora and fauna

Flora

List of plant species

Fauna

List of animal species

Climate

Average temperatures by altitude

Through routes

History

Monuments and structures of interest

Protected zones

Myths and legends

See also

Information

Routes and climbs

Miscellaneous