Iberian mountains
The Iberian Mountains ( Spanish Sistema Ibérico ) is a mountain system in Spain . It forms the high eastern edge of the central table country and at the same time the main watershed of the Iberian Peninsula between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean .
geography
location
The Iberian Mountains, unlike the other mountain systems of the Iberian Peninsula, extend from northwest to southeast. It consists partly of mountain ranges and mountain groups, partly of plateaus and parameras inserted in between . Beginning at the sources of the Ebro , it spreads significantly to the south. Here its branches cover the entire wide and terraced east and south slopes of the table land. They come as far as the coast, which they girdle in a wide area from the mouth of the Llobregat to that of the Segura . The mountain system covers the east of Castile , all of Valencia , southern Aragon and southern Catalonia (around 40,000 km² in total). With its convexity it describes an arc of 650 km in length facing northeast.
geology
The Iberian Mountains seem mostly to belong to the Jura formation or to consist of older tertiary formations ( Nummulite limestone ). Marble and sandstone are common. The larger valleys contain tertiary camps. Characteristic for the middle part of the whole train are the shape of the Parameras and for the southern part that of the Muelas ("millstones"), i. H. isolated, truncated and steeply sloping rock cone.
structure
The Iberian Mountains can naturally be divided into three parts:
Old Castilian chain
The Old Castilian chain on the right bank of the Ebro is made up of the Sierra de la Demanda (2,305 m), the Pico de Urbion (2252 m), the Cebollera (2176 m) and the Sierra de Moncayo (2314 m).
South Aragon Highlands
The southern Aragon highlands rise south of the Jalón as a continuation of the Old Castilian chain and consist of the Sierra de Cucalón and other south-east facing lines. At the sources of the Guadalaviar and the Alfambra it widens into a widely ramified mountainous region. This extends from the Aragonese province of Teruel to the neighboring province of Cuenca , where it forms the Serranía de Cuenca , and into the Valencian province of Castellón , where it is sloping against the sea. To the north it extends to the mouth of the Ebro; on the other side it is continued in the Catalan mountain road .
Outstanding mountain ranges in this part of the Iberian mountain system are the Sierra de Albarracín , the Sierra de Gudar (1770 m), the Sierra de Javalambre (2002 m) and the Peña Golosa (1813 m) group. The southern Aragon highlands appear as an extensive plateau, which is furrowed by the valleys of the waters that pour off on all sides. Rugged, rugged rocky mountains with deep gorges, on the other hand, form the eastern branches that fill the province of Castellón.
South Valencian mountain country
The southern Valencian mountainous region lies between the lower reaches of the Río Turia and the Río Segura . It is divided by the Río Júcar into two parts, each of which consists of a number of parallel, little or no contiguous, mountain walls separated by wide valleys. These include the Sierra Martes , the Sierra Enguera , the Sierra Grosa and the Sierra de las Cabres . They run towards the coast and often end in rugged cliffs. The most important elevation here is the Moncabrer (1386 m).
