Quirós is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias , Spain. To the southeast is the municipality of Lena , to the south lies the Autonomous Community of León , to the northeast Riosa and Morcín , to the north is Santo Adriano , to the northwest is Proaza , and to the west is Teverga . Castillo de Alba was a notable fortress here in medieval times, today in ruins.
19-633: The province is within the Cantabrian Mountains and around 30 kilometres from the Asturian capital city of Oviedo . The municipality is a small one, encompassing some 40 towns and villages. Much of the municipality is protected landscape. There are numerous species of flora, including oak trees , chestnut trees, holly , birch trees and groves of alder . Local wildlife includes bears , wolves , foxes , otters , squirrels , wild boars , eagles , vultures and trout . The economy
38-466: A distance due to its isolation from any other peak. The south face has smooth reliefs while the north face has vertical walls. Due to its composition, it suffers variations in its appearance depending on the season and lighting, being covered with snow most of the winter. On 27 June 2000, the declaration of the Fuentes Carrionas y Fuente Cobre-Montaña Palentina Natural Park was published in
57-507: A real treasure for speleologists . It is a transition area in which taxa typical of central and northern Europe are mixed with others characteristic of the Mediterranean world. The climatic conditions make it lack vegetation, developing only some lichen and small plants characteristic of the high mountains. Among the latter it is necessary to highlight a variety of sempervivum that only occurs in this peak, discovered in 1935 by
76-536: Is an eastern prolongation of the Galician Massif with Paleozoic folds. It is cut by deep east-west oriented canyons such as the Cares River valley. Highest point Torre de Cerredo 2,648 m. The main mountains of this zone are the massive Picos de Europa . They are composed of Carboniferous limestone and marl . The Paramo de Masa and La Lora grasslands are located in the south crossed by
95-567: Is based on cattle ranching , tourism and farming . This article about a location in the Principality of Asturias, Spain, is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Cantabrian Mountains The Cantabrian Mountains or Cantabrian Range ( Spanish : Cordillera Cantábrica ) are one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain . They stretch for over 300 km (180 miles) across northern Spain, from
114-680: Is bigger) to areas in Léon , Palencia and Cantabria , and the Cantabrian capercaillie ( T. urogallus cantabricus ). Other animals associated with the range include the Iberian wolf ( Canis lupus signatus ) and the rebeco , or Cantabrian chamois ( Rupicapra pyrenaica parva ). Woodland in the Cantabrian Mountains is generally predominated by beeches ( Fagus sylvatica ). The Pyrenean ibex ( Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica ), one of
133-491: Is located north of the hamlet of Cardaño de Abajo and south-west of Cardaño de Arriba, in the municipality of Velilla del Río Carrión , within the Montaña Palentina Natural Park , 26 km from the regional centre of Guardo and 126 km from the provincial capital, Palencia . Its western foothills belong to the town of Valverde de la Sierra ( León ). It is a pyramidal limestone mass, visible from
152-572: Is more gradual, and several large rivers, notably the Ebro , rise here and flow to the south or west. The breadth of the Cantabrian chain, with all its ramifications, increases from about 60 mi (97 km); in the east to about 115 miles (185 km) in the west. Many peaks are over 6,000 feet (1,800 m) high, but the greatest altitudes are attained in the central ridges on the borders of León , Asturias , Palencia and Cantabria . Here are
171-547: Is possible in the ski resorts of Alto Campoo , Valgrande-Pajares, Fuentes de Invierno, San Isidro, Leitariegos and Manzaneda. The Cantabrian Mountains stretch east-west, nearly parallel to the Cantabrian Sea, as far as the Pass of Leitariegos, also extending south between León and Galicia. The range's western boundary is marked by the valley of the river Minho ( Spanish : Miño ), by the lower Sil , which flows into
190-473: The Boletín Oficial del Estado —revised on 28 May 2010— to which Espigüete belongs. It is one of the highest peaks of the natural park (2450 m), characterized by peaks such as Curavacas (2528) and by the valley bottoms, with a difference in altitude that can reach over 1000 meters. Its limits are established by morpho-structural features: to the north, the thrust fault that directs the waters of
209-726: The Arroyo Mazobres ; to the east, the synclinorium complex that sinks its roots in the Arroyo de las Lomas ; to the west, it is drawn against the metamorphic slopes of Caladillos and Carrascal ; and to the south, its margin is formed by the prolonged slate and sandstone spines of the Cervera Formation . Despite its appearance, the Espigüete has numerous hollows in its interior, where there are huge canyons with subway rivers and lakes, deep pits and caves that make it
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#1732794088234228-462: The Rudrón Valley . The Basque Mountains at the eastern end of the system, with very eroded Mesozoic folds and ranges of moderate height: The Cantabrian Mountains are home to an important variety of plant life, as well as the Cantabrian brown bear ( Ursus arctos pyrenaicus ), catalogued as being in danger of extinction, which extends from Asturias (the region where its population
247-585: The Conservation of Wild Birds. Espig%C3%BCete Pico Espigüete (2450 m) is a mountain in the Montaña Palentina, the mountainous far northern part of the province of Palencia in Castile and León , Spain. Despite not being the highest peak in the area, it is its most emblematic summit, alongside nearby Curavacas . It is located in the municipality of Velilla del Río Carrión . It
266-654: The Miño, and by the Cabrera River , a small tributary of the Sil. The Cantabrian Mountains reach their south-western limit in Portugal. As a whole, the Cantabrian Mountains are remarkable for their intricate ramifications, but almost everywhere, and especially in the east, it is possible to distinguish two principal ranges, from which the lesser ridges and mountain masses radiate. One range, or series of ranges, closely follows
285-531: The chain, as of the adjacent tableland, is the number of its parameras, isolated plateaus shut in by lofty mountains or even by precipitous walls of rock. The Cantabrian Mountains sharply divide " Green Spain ", to the north, from the dry central plateau . The north facing slopes receive heavy cyclonic rainfall from the Cantabrian Sea, whereas the southern slopes are in rain shadow . The Cantabrian Range has three very distinct sections from west to east: The Asturian Massif and its foothills. Geologically it
304-628: The four subspecies of the Iberian ibex ( Capra pyrenaica ), which used to inhabit the Cantabrian Mountains, became extinct in 2000. The Cantabrian mountain range includes several protected areas such as the Picos de Europa National Park, which is one of several Cantabrian parks included in UNESCO 's World Network of Biosphere Reserves . Some of the sites are included in the European Union 's Natura 2000 network and Special Protection Areas for
323-665: The highest peak Torre de Cerredo (8,688 feet (2,648 m)), Peña Vieja (8,579 feet (2,615 m)), Peña Prieta (8,304 feet (2,531 m)) and Espigüete (7,898 feet (2,407 m)); an unnamed summit in the Picos de Europa , to which range the Peña Vieja also belongs, rises on the right bank of the Sella to a height of 8,045 feet (2,452 m); further west the peaks of Manpodres , Peña Ubiña , Peña Rubia and Cuiña all exceed 7,000 feet (2,100 m). A conspicuous feature of
342-474: The outline of the coast; the other, which is loftier, forms the northern limit of the great tableland of Castile and León , and is sometimes regarded as a continuation of the Pyrenees. In some parts the coastal range rises sheer above the sea, and everywhere has so abrupt a declivity that the streams which flow seaward are all short and swift. The descent from the southern range to the high plateaux of Castile
361-639: The western limit of the Pyrenees to the Galician Massif in Galicia , along the coast of the Cantabrian Sea . Their easternmost end meets the Sistema Ibérico . These mountains are a distinct physiographic province of the larger Alpine System physiographic division . The Cantabrian Mountains offer a wide range of trails for hiking , as well as many challenging climbing routes. Skiing
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