Tabernas Desert
Encyclopedia
The Tabernas Desert is a desert
in Spain
. It is located in the province of Almería
about 30 kilometres (18.6 mi) north of the capital, Almería
, in the Tabernas municipality
. It is protected as a wilderness area (paraje natural) spanning 280 square kilometres (108.1 sq mi).
to the north and the Sierra de Alhamilla to the south-southeast, isolating it from the humid winds of the Mediterranean Sea
, in an area with little rainfall known as Levante
. The desert receives about 14 cm of rain a year. Together, the high temperatures felt all year long (average temperature of 20°C) and one of the longest levels of sun exposure possible (3000 hours) produce the dry climate that gives rise to this true desert. These characteristics are also aggravated by the foehn effect. Temperatures in winter rarely drop below freezing at night while during the summer temperatures during the day constantly surpass 40°C (104°F) in the shade
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The little rainfall that occurs is usually torrential, so that the ground, consisting of marl
s and sandstone
with little vegetation, is unable to retain moisture. Instead, the rain causes erosion
, forming the characteristic landscape of badlands. Arroyo
s formed by torrential rain harbor the scarce vegetation and fauna such as Swift
s, Hedgehog
s, Jackdaw
s, Pin-tailed Sandgrouse
s, Blue Rock Thrush
es, Stone Curlew
s, Trumpeter Finch
es, and Crested Lark
s.
, because of its similarities with the North American deserts like the Far West of the American West, northern Africa, the Arabian deserts, and its lunar landscape, served from 1950s and is still used today for the shooting of many films and westerns. The spaghetti western
s were shot at the three main studios, Texas Hollywood
, Mini Hollywood
, and Western Leone
.
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
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...
. It is located in the province of Almería
Almería (province)
-History:The rich customs and Fiestas of the denizens retain links deep into the past, unto the Moors, the Romans, the Greeks, and the Phoenicians.During the taifa era, it was ruled by the Moor Banu al-Amiri from 1012 to 1038, briefly annexed by Valencia , then given by Zaragoza to the Banu Sumadih...
about 30 kilometres (18.6 mi) north of the capital, Almería
Almería
Almería is a city in Andalusia, Spain, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the capital of the province of the same name.-Toponym:Tradition says that the name Almería stems from the Arabic المرية Al-Mariyya: "The Mirror", comparing it to "The Mirror of the Sea"...
, in the Tabernas municipality
Tabernas
- Cinema :The Desert Tabernas, because of its similarities with the North American deserts like the Far West of the American West, northern Africa, the Arabian deserts, and its lunar landscape, served from 1950s and onwards for the shooting of many films and westerns making the area famous around...
. It is protected as a wilderness area (paraje natural) spanning 280 square kilometres (108.1 sq mi).
Climate
The Tabernas Desert is situated between the Sierra de los FilabresSierra de Los Filabres
Sierra de Los Filabres is the largest mountain range in Almería Province, Andalusia, Spain. It is forms the southern limit of the Almanzora Valley...
to the north and the Sierra de Alhamilla to the south-southeast, isolating it from the humid winds of the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, in an area with little rainfall known as Levante
Levante, Spain
The Levante is a name used to refer to the eastern region of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. It roughly corresponds to the former Xarq Al-Andalus, but has no modern geopolitical definition...
. The desert receives about 14 cm of rain a year. Together, the high temperatures felt all year long (average temperature of 20°C) and one of the longest levels of sun exposure possible (3000 hours) produce the dry climate that gives rise to this true desert. These characteristics are also aggravated by the foehn effect. Temperatures in winter rarely drop below freezing at night while during the summer temperatures during the day constantly surpass 40°C (104°F) in the shade
Geology and biology
Marl
Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...
s and 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,...
with little vegetation, is unable to retain moisture. Instead, the rain causes 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...
, forming the characteristic landscape of badlands. Arroyo
Arroyo (creek)
An arroyo , a Spanish word translated as brook, and also called a wash is usually a dry creek or stream bed—gulch that temporarily or seasonally fills and flows after sufficient rain. Wadi is a similar term in Africa. In Spain, a rambla has a similar meaning to arroyo.-Types and processes:Arroyos...
s formed by torrential rain harbor the scarce vegetation and fauna such as Swift
Swift
The swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are actually not closely related to passerine species at all; swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes, which they share with hummingbirds...
s, Hedgehog
Hedgehog
A hedgehog is any of the spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae and the order Erinaceomorpha. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera, found through parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and New Zealand . There are no hedgehogs native to Australia, and no living species native to the Americas...
s, Jackdaw
Jackdaw
The Jackdaw , sometimes known as the Eurasian Jackdaw, European Jackdaw or Western Jackdaw, is a passerine bird in the crow family. Found across Europe, western Asia and North Africa, it is mostly sedentary, although northern and eastern populations migrate south in winter. Four subspecies are...
s, Pin-tailed Sandgrouse
Pin-tailed Sandgrouse
The Pin-tailed Sandgrouse is a medium large bird in the sandgrouse family.The nominate race breeds in Iberia and southern France, and the eastern form P. a. caudacutus is found in northwest Africa, and from southeast Turkey east to Kazakhstan...
s, Blue Rock Thrush
Blue Rock Thrush
The Blue Rock Thrush is a species of chat. This thrush-like Old World flycatcher was formerly placed in the family Turdidae....
es, Stone Curlew
Stone Curlew
The Stone Curlew, Eurasian Thick-knee, or Eurasian Stone-curlew Burhinus oedicnemus is a northern species of the Burhinidae bird family....
s, Trumpeter Finch
Trumpeter Finch
The Trumpeter Finch is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.This bird breeds in the Canary Islands, across north Africa, and in the Middle East and into central Asia. There is a small European population in southern Spain...
es, and Crested Lark
Crested Lark
The Crested Lark, Galerida cristata, breeds across most of temperate Eurasia from Portugal to northeast China and eastern India, and in Africa south to Niger...
s.
Cinema
The Desert of TabernasTabernas
- Cinema :The Desert Tabernas, because of its similarities with the North American deserts like the Far West of the American West, northern Africa, the Arabian deserts, and its lunar landscape, served from 1950s and onwards for the shooting of many films and westerns making the area famous around...
, because of its similarities with the North American deserts like the Far West of the American West, northern Africa, the Arabian deserts, and its lunar landscape, served from 1950s and is still used today for the shooting of many films and westerns. The spaghetti western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
s were shot at the three main studios, Texas Hollywood
Texas Hollywood
Texas Hollywood is a Western-styled theme park in the province of Almería in Spain. Built in the early 1970s, it lies a few kilometers to the north of the N-340 road highway , near the town of Tabernas. Around 1977, Rafa Molina, a stuntman, bought the set for US$6,000 to improve his job...
, Mini Hollywood
Mini Hollywood
Mini Hollywood or Oasys is a Spanish Western-styled theme park, located off the 364km mark of the N-340 road, near the town of Tabernas in the province of Almería, Andalusia. Originally known as Yucca City, the set was designed by Carlo Simi and built for Sergio Leone's For a Few Dollars More in...
, and Western Leone
Western Leone
Western Leone is a Western-style theme park in the province of Almeria, Andalusia. Located at the 378.9km mark on the A-92 motorway, it is the smallest of three such theme parks in the Tabernas Desert; the other two are Mini Hollywood and Texas Hollywood...
.
See also
- List of Sites of Community Importance in Andalusia
- Climate of SpainClimate of SpainThree main climatic zones can be separated, according to geographical situation and orographic conditions:*The Mediterranean climate, characterized by dry and warm summers...
- List of films shot in Almería