Puig Major

Puig Major
height	1445 msnm
location	Mallorca
Mountains	Serra de Tramuntana
Coordinates	39 ° 48 '27 " N , 2 ° 47' 36" E Coordinates: 39 ° 48 '27 " N , 2 ° 47' 36" E
Type	Rock peaks
rock	limestone
particularities	Highest mountain in the Balearic Islands

The Puig Major [ ˌputʃmaˈʒor ] ("Big Mountain") or Puig Major de Son Torrella is the highest mountain on the Spanish Balearic island of Mallorca at 1,445 meters . It is located in the north-western landscape zone ( comarca ) Serra de Tramuntana , embedded in the mountain range of the same name.

The mountain belongs to the municipality of Escorca , the smallest municipality in Mallorca in terms of population. At a distance of thirteen kilometers from the highest point of the Puig Major , Sóller is the closest larger town. The top of the mountain is a restricted military area .

history

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Panoramic view from the summit

The mountain, now generally only called Puig Major , is sometimes also given the addition "de Son Torella" . This is due to the fact that in the past the Puig de Massanella was also referred to as the Puig Major de Massanella , i.e. the “Great Mountain of Massanella”. To distinguish it, the other “big mountain” of the Tramuntana Mountains, the higher of the two peaks, was given the nickname after its location above the small town of Son Torella .

The summit of Puig Major has been a restricted military area since 1958. This is the result of an agreement with the United States of 1953, under which Spain granted the Americans several army and naval bases in return for extensive economic aid. The US military stationed the 880th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron on the Puig Major and installed the first radar system. For their construction, the summit was removed five meters in height, as a plateau was required as a flat surface for the building. The road that starts at Son Torella and leads to the highest point in Mallorca, like the serpentine road to Cala de Sa Calobra , was planned by the Italian engineer Antonio Paretti and built under his direction. In addition to high-ranking military officials, the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco and his wife also visited the facility in 1959 .

At the end of 1964 the Americans withdrew and handed over the base to Spanish responsibility. Today the Spanish air force number 7, the Escuadrón de Vigilancia Aérea (EVA-7) , with around 90 military personnel, uses the facilities on the top of the mountain (zona técnica) and the base station (zona del asentamiento) at an altitude of 850 meters on the MA-10 road in the Son Torella valley . The three-dimensional radar device Lanza 3D of the Spanish military, which was put into operation on May 27, 2003, monitors the western Mediterranean and parts of North Africa .

A construction project planned in 1932 for a cable car to the summit, also designed by Paretti, was dropped again. However, the platform of the designated valley station was built. It is located at 2.2 km of the MA-2141 road to Cala de sa Calobra , just before the Coll de Cas Reis road pass (723 meters above sea level ). The planned cable car was designed with a length of 2016 meters to the highest point of the Puig Major for 25 passengers per trip. The project was not implemented because of the high costs and the onset of the Spanish civil war .

Location and surroundings

Puig Major and Puig de Massanella from the southwest

The Puig Major is located in the Serra de Son Torella ( " mountain of Son Torella "), a part of the Tramuntana mountain range. It itself forms a compact mountain range , which has several secondary peaks in addition to the 1445 meter high main peak. The best known of them is the Penyal des Migdia , the "noon peak", southwest of the island's highest point . At 1398 meters, this peak is still higher than the Puig de Massanella, known as Mallorca's second highest mountain, at 1365 meters. The Penyal des Migdia towers over the valley of Fornalutx with its steep face and is a striking point of view from the direction of the small town of Sóller.

In January and February there is more often a thin layer of snow on the Puig Major , which can sometimes last until April. At the foot of the mountain are the two reservoirs, Embassament des Gorg Blau and Embassament de Cúber , which provide drinking water primarily to the capital Palma. The reservoir in Vall de Cúber was filled for the first time in April 1972.