The Altiplano de Granada (Granada High Plains) is a spectrum of landscapes located in the northern part of the

Granada province Granada is a province of southern Spain, in the eastern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by the provinces of Albacete, Murcia, Almería, Jaén, Córdoba, Málaga, and the Mediterranean Sea (along the Costa Tropical). ...

in southern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Administratively it is made up of two municipal territories: Baza and

Huéscar Huéscar ( la, Osca) is a municipality of the province of Granada, Spain. History When the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Rome, Osca was a town of the Turdetani, and incorporated into the Roman province of Hispania Baetica. However, purported ...

. Topography The altiplano consists of a high plain (700 –1000 metres) surrounded by several high mountain ranges; Sierra Castril and Sierra del Pozo to the north, Sierra de Orce and Sierra Maria to the West, and Sierra de Baza in the south. The area includes the

Hoya de Baza The Hoya of Baza is a valley in the northern part of the province of Granada, Andalusia, southern Spain, named after the town and former bishopric Baza, Granada. It is one of the series of valleys forming the Surco Intrabético. It formed during ...

and the valleys of the Galera, Huescar and Guardal rivers. Approximately 8 million years ago the altiplano is thought to have formed a huge inlet that connected the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. As the mountain building activity associated with the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

has raised the area, so the level of the sea fell and temporarily formed an inland lake, eventually the area drained to the east, towards the Rio

Guadalquivir The Guadalquivir (, also , , ) is the fifth-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula and the second-longest river with its entire length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is the only major navigable river in Spain. Currently it is navigable from the Gulf ...

. The geology of the altiplano is characterised by naturally cemented horizontally arranged oceanic sediments.Museo de Prehistoria y Paleontologia de Orce Climate Rainfall in the basin is slight, but precipitation falls on the surrounding mountains and spawns a number of Rivers

References

Geography of the Province of Granada {{Spain-geo-stub