Ventisquero de la Condesa
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The Ventisquero de la Condesa is a snow field in the Sierra de Guadarrama ( Spain ).
It is located at about 2,000 msnm on the east side of the Bola del Mundo (2,265 m), in the extreme northeast of the Comunidad de Madrid , within the municipality of Manzanares el Real . This snow field is one of the most important snow stores during the dry summer months and forms the headwaters of the Rio Manzanares .
Naming
The Ventisquero de la Condesa owes its name to the Countess of the royal Manzanares, Francisca de Silva y Mendoza, Marquesa de Santillana . Before that it was called "Ventisquero de las Guarramillas", based on the Alto de las Guarramillas, which is more colloquially known as Bola del Mundo.
In the Mediterranean mountains of the Iberian Peninsula, the term ventisquero is used to describe those snow fields that are in the sunshine of the peaks. They not only store the snow from the fallen precipitation, but they are supplied with additional snow masses by storms, wind and blizzards.
history
This snowfield was intensively exploited from the 17th century and until the end of the 19th century, along with others of the Cuerda Larga. The snow masses were transported from May to summer with donkey teams as far as Madrid . The snow was used to keep food cool and refreshing drinks. The storage capacity of the snow field was optimized by building a retention wall made of stone.
Dimensions
The snowfield of the Ventisquero de la Condesa is next to that of the Valdemartin the most important on the southern slopes of the Sierra de Guadarrama . On a slightly inclined slope of weathered granite rubble, it arches out in a ribbon-like manner over approximately 5.3 hectares over 625 m in length and 80 m in width.
It represents 1.06 percent of the total snow fields of the Sierra de Guadarrama, which are spread over a total of 500 hectares. All are located at an altitude of over 1,900 m.
Hydrography
In the vicinity of the Ventisquero de la Condesa there are several springs that form the origin of the Río Manzanares, which flows through the entire Comunidad de Madrid for a total of 92 km. The overriding river catchment area is that of the Tajo , to which the Manzanares flows through the Jarama .
The area is usually characterized in winter by a thick and closed blanket of snow that lasts into the beginning of spring. When the snow melts, the flow of the Río Manzanares rises considerably.
climate
The annual average temperature of the Ventisquero de la Condesa is 5.0 ° C (years 1951-2000) with an average annual rainfall of 1,400 mm and 150 days of precipitation, of which half of the days snowfall is registered.
The snowfield usually lasts between 180 and 250 days a year. Between 1996 and 2004 the mean snow cover was 209 days.
The snow does not last the same time over the entire surface of the Ventisquero. In 23.5 percent of the area, the snow is between 180 and 200 days; in 44.3 percent, between 200 and 220 days; in 23.2 percent, between 220 and 240; and in the remaining 9 percent, between 240 and 250 days.
vegetation
The extensive spread of the snow masses in the Ventisquero de la Condesa allows the existence of small plants on approx. 33% of the area that bloom during or shortly after the snow melt.
A total of 28 plant species were cataloged.
See also
Web links
- Vuelo virtual desde el ventisquero de la Condesa por el norte del río Manzanares y su comarca spanish
Coordinates: 40 ° 47 ′ 44.8 " N , 3 ° 59 ′ 13.5" W.