![Tajos del Sabar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Tajos_del_Sabar.jpg)
The Baetic System or Betic System ( es, Sistema Bético) is one of the main systems of
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...
s in
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 ...
. Located in the southern and eastern
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
, it is also known as the Cordilleras Béticas (Baetic Mountain Ranges) or Baetic Mountains. The name of the mountain system derives from the
ancient Roman
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
region of
Baetica, one of the Imperial
Roman provinces of ancient
Hispania
Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...
.
Geography
The Baetic System is made up of multiple mountain ranges that reach from western
Andalusia
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...
to the
Region of Murcia, southern
Castile-La Mancha and the
Land of Valencia
The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...
. To the north, the Baetic Ranges are separated from the
Meseta Central and the
Sierra Morena
The Sierra Morena is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain. It stretches for 450 kilometres from east to west across the south of the Iberian Peninsula, forming the southern border of the ''Meseta Central'' plateau and providi ...
by the basin of the
Guadalquivir. The Iberian System rises north of the eastern part of the
Prebaetic System
The Prebaetic System ( es, Sistemas Prebéticos or ''Sistema Prebético'', also often referred to simply as ''Prebético'') is a system of mountain ranges that forms the northeasternmost prolongation of the Baetic System in the southern Iberian P ...
, the northernmost prolongation of the Baetic System. Generally the mountain ranges that are part of this system are aligned in a southwest-northeast direction.
The most well-known range of the Baetic System is 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 ...
, where the
Mulhacén, the highest mountain in continental Spain and in the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
is found.
The
Rock of Gibraltar
The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabel-al-Tariq) is a monolithic limestone promontory located in the British territory of Gibraltar, near the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, and near the entrance to the Mediterr ...
is also considered to be part of the Baetic System, but not the
Cabo de Gata
Cabo de Gata is a cape located in Níjar, Almería in the south of Spain, one of the biggest capes. It is the driest place in the Iberian Peninsula (150-170 mm average precipitation, being the lowest 52 mm in 1981). However, the area th ...
area further east which includes rocks of
volcanic
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...
origin.
Geology
The Baetic System as a geological feature belongs to a larger
orogeny
Orogeny is a mountain building process. An orogeny is an event that takes place at a convergent plate margin when plate motion compresses the margin. An ''orogenic belt'' or ''orogen'' develops as the compressed plate crumples and is uplifted t ...
usually called the
Gibraltar Arc
The Gibraltar Arc is a geological region corresponding to an arcuate orogen surrounding the Alboran Sea, between the Iberian Peninsula and Africa. It consists of the Betic Cordillera (south Spain), and the Rif (North Morocco). The Gibraltar Arc is ...
, which represents the westernmost edge of the
Alpine Orogeny. The
geodynamic mechanisms responsible for its formation are so far relatively unknown.
Geologically the
Rif mountains in
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
and the
Serra de Tramuntana
The Serra de Tramuntana (, es, Sierra de Tramontana) is a mountain range running southwest–northeast which forms the northern backbone of the Spanish island of Mallorca. It is also the name given to the comarca of the same area. On 27 June 201 ...
in the island of
Majorca
Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean.
The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...
are extensions of the Baetic System.
Dan Davis, ''Commercial Navigation in the Greek and Roman World''
/ref>
The Gibraltar Arc geological region follows the Moroccan coast from Oujda
Oujda ( ar, وجدة; ber, ⵡⵓⵊⴷⴰ, Wujda) is a major Moroccan city in its northeast near the border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of about 558,000 people. It ...
in the east to Tangier
Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...
in the west, then crosses the Strait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medi ...
and goes east again from Cádiz
Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia.
Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...
to Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
and the Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...
.
Ecology
The Baetic System is home to a number of Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub is a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The biome is generally characterized by dry summers and rainy winters, although in some areas rainfall may be uniform. Summers are typically hot in ...
plant communities, including shrublands, oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
woodlands, broadleaf forests, and conifer
Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...
ous forests, which vary with elevation, soils, and topography.
The Baetic System, together with the Rif Mountains of Morocco, which face the Baetic Ranges across the Alboran Sea
The Alboran Sea (from Arabic , ''al-Baḥrān'') is the westernmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea, lying between the Iberian Peninsula and the north of Africa (Spain on the north and Morocco and Algeria on the south). The Strait of Gibraltar, w ...
, is one of the Mediterranean basin
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and w ...
's ten biodiversity hotspots, known to ecologists as the Baetic-Rifan complex. The Baetic mountains are home to a rich assemblage of Mediterranean plants, including a number of relict species from the ancient laurel forest
Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and elo ...
s, which covered much of the Mediterranean basin millions of years ago when it was more humid.
Subdivision
The Baetic System is divided into the following sub-chains:
Penibaetic System
The Penibaetic System includes the highest point in the peninsula, the 3,478 m high Mulhacén in 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 ...
; other ranges and features are:
* Serranía de Ronda
*Rock of Gibraltar
The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabel-al-Tariq) is a monolithic limestone promontory located in the British territory of Gibraltar, near the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, and near the entrance to the Mediterr ...
* Sierra de las Nieves
* Sierra Blanca
*Cordillera Antequerana
A cordillera is an extensive chain and/or network system of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope').
The term is most commonly us ...
*Sierra de Tejeda
Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following:
Places Mountains and mountain ranges
* Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico
* Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...
*Sierra de Almijara
The Sierra de Almijara is a mountain range in the provinces of Granada and Málaga in southern Spain.
The rocks are mainly marble, giving a white or gray color to the narrow ridges and deep ravines.
The range is mostly protected by the Sierras of ...
*Sierra de Alhama
Sierra de Alhama is a mountain range of the Penibaetic System in Málaga and Granada provinces, Andalusia, Spain. Its highest point is the 1,500 m high Pico de la Torca. Other notable summits are Hoyo del Toro, 1,353 m, Cerro de Marchamonas, ...
*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 ...
*Sierra de Lújar
Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following:
Places Mountains and mountain ranges
* Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico
* Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...
*Sierra de la Contraviesa
Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following:
Places Mountains and mountain ranges
* Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico
* Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...
*Sierra de Cogollos
The Sierra de Cogollos is a mountain range of the Baetic System in Granada Province, Andalusia, Spain.
The range is located to the northeast of Granada city. Its highest point is the 1,889 m high Peñón del Majalijar peak.
Geography
The Sierr ...
*
* Sierra de Baza
* Sierra de los Filabres
*Sierra de Alhamilla
Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following:
Places Mountains and mountain ranges
* Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico
* Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...
*Sierra Espuña
The Sierra Espuña is a mountain range in the Region of Murcia, Spain. It is part of the Penibaetic System. The Sierra Espuña Regional Park protects 17,804 ha of the mountain range in the municipalities of Alhama de Murcia, Totana and Mula. The ...
*Sierra Cabrera
Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following:
Places Mountains and mountain ranges
* Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico
* Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...
*Sierra de las Estancias
Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following:
Places Mountains and mountain ranges
* Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico
* Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...
*The Surco Intrabético comprises a series of valleys and depressions separating the Penibaetic from the Subbaetic System
Subbaetic System
The Subbaetic System
The Subbaetic or Sub-Baetic System ( es, Sistema Subbético or ''Cordillera Subbética'') is one of the three systems of mountain ranges of the Baetic System in the southern Iberian Peninsula. Highest point high Peña de la Cruz in Sierra Ara ...
occupies a central position within the Baetic System. Highest point high Peña de la Cruz
Peña, meaning "rocky outcrop" or "rocky summit" in the Spanish language (Aragonese: ''Penya'', Catalan: ''Penya''). It may refer to:
Mountains
*Peña Montañesa, a mountain in the Pre-Pyrenees, Aragon, Spain
*Peña de los Enamorados, a mountain ...
in Sierra Arana
The Sierra Arana or Sierra de Arana, also known as Sierra Harana, is a mountain range in the center of the province of Granada, southern Spain. Its highest peak is the Peña de la Cruz, at .
Description
The Sierra Arana is a mostly karstic range ...
.
*Sierra del Aljibe
Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following:
Places Mountains and mountain ranges
* Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico
* Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...
, includes the Alcornocales Natural Park
* Sierra de Grazalema
Grazalema is a village located in the northeastern part of the province of Cádiz, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Situated in the foothills of the Sierra del Pinar mountain range (Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park), Grazalema h ...
* Sierra de Gibalbín
*Sierras Subbéticas de Córdoba Sierra is a Spanish word meaning mountain chain and saw, from Latin '' serra''. The corresponding word in Portuguese, Catalan and Latin is ''serra''. This name is used for various mountain ranges in Spanish-speaking and other countries (with the wo ...
* Sierra Elvira
Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following:
Places Mountains and mountain ranges
* Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico
* Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...
* Sierra de Loja
Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following:
Places Mountains and mountain ranges
* Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico
* Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...
* Sierra de Arana
The Sierra Arana or Sierra de Arana, also known as Sierra Harana, is a mountain range in the center of the province of Granada, southern Spain. Its highest peak is the Peña de la Cruz, at .
Description
The Sierra Arana is a mostly karstic range, ...
*Sierra de Cogollos
The Sierra de Cogollos is a mountain range of the Baetic System in Granada Province, Andalusia, Spain.
The range is located to the northeast of Granada city. Its highest point is the 1,889 m high Peñón del Majalijar peak.
Geography
The Sierr ...
* Sierra de la Alfaguara
The Sierra de la Alfaguara is a mountain range in the Cordillera Subbética, beside the Sierra de Huétor in southern Spain.
It lies within the Parque Natural de la Sierra de Huétor y la Alfaguara.
Location
The mountain range rises above the to ...
* Sierra de Huétor
The Sierra de Huétor is a mountain range of the Baetic System in Granada Province, Andalusia, Spain.
The range is located to the northeast of Granada city. The altitude of the summits ranges between and almost displaying a variety of differen ...
* Sierra Sur de Jaén overlapping with the Prebaetic System
Prebaetic System
The Prebaetic System
The Prebaetic System ( es, Sistemas Prebéticos or ''Sistema Prebético'', also often referred to simply as ''Prebético'') is a system of mountain ranges that forms the northeasternmost prolongation of the Baetic System in the southern Iberian P ...
is the northernmost feature of the whole Baetic System. Highest point 2,382 m high La Sagra
La Sagra is a Castilian comarca delineated by natural formations but not legally recognized. The comarca includes localities belonging to both the province of Madrid and the province of Toledo. La Sagra covers an area of 1322 km2, and is bordered ...
.
*Sierra Mágina
The Sierra Mágina is a massif mostly in the province of Jaén (southern Spain), part of the Cordillera Subbética. The highest peak is the Pico Mágina, with an elevation of 2,164 m.
Geography
The boundaries of the massif are grossly defi ...
* Sierra de la Sagra
* Sierra de Cazorla
* Sierra de Segura
*Sierra de Alcaraz
The Sierra de Alcaraz is a mountain range of the Cordillera Prebética located in Albacete Province, southeast Spain. Its highest peak is the ''Pico Almenara'' with an elevation of 1796 m.
See also
*Baetic System
Baetic System
Alcaraz
Alc ...
*Sierra de Castril
Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following:
Places Mountains and mountain ranges
* Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico
* Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...
* Sierra de la Sagra
*Sierra del Taibilla
Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following:
Places Mountains and mountain ranges
* Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico
* Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...
*Sierra de María
Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following:
Places Mountains and mountain ranges
* Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico
* Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...
, overlapping with the Penibaetic System
*Serra Mariola
The Serra Mariola Natural Park (, es, Parque Natural de la Sierra de Mariola) is a mountain range in the Valencian Community, Spain, one of the most peripheral offsprings of the Baetic System. Most of its territory is included in a natural park f ...
*Montgó Massif
Montgó () is a mountain in Alicante Province, Spain, which rises to . It is the last spur on the Cordillera Prebética Mountain Range and is located in the Marina Alta region in the north of Alicante between the towns of Dénia and Xàbia. The m ...
*Sierra de Bernia
Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following:
Places Mountains and mountain ranges
* Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico
* Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...
*Penyal d'Ifac
Penyal d'Ifac Natural Park ( ca-valencia, Parc Natural del Penyal d'Ifac, es, Parque Natural del Peñón de Ifach) is a natural park situated in Calpe, in the Valencian Community, Spain.
The Penyal d'Ifac is a massive limestone outcrop emerging ...
See also
*Geography of Spain
Spain is a country located in southwestern Europe occupying most (about 82 percent) of the Iberian Peninsula. It also includes a small exclave inside France called Llívia, as well as the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Isla ...
* Geology of the Iberian Peninsula
*Baetic Depression
The Baetic Depression ( es, Depresión Bética or ''Depresión del Guadalquivir'') is an alluvial plain in the lower valley of the Guadalquivir in Andalusia, Spain.
It is a large triangular-shaped area in the Guadalquivir basin oriented roughly ...
* Tabernas Desert
References
External links
Sierra Nevada Natural Park
* ttp://aguas.igme.es/igme/publica/libro20/pdf/lib20/c_guadal_1.pdf Cuenca del Guadalquivir
{{Authority control
Physiographic provinces
Environment of the Mediterranean
Mountain ranges of Andalusia
Mountain ranges of the Region of Murcia
Mountain ranges of Castilla–La Mancha
Mountain ranges of the Valencian Community