Calar Alto is the highest peak (2168 m over sea level) in the

Sierra de Los Filabres Sierra de Los Filabres is the largest mountain range in Almería Province, Andalusia, Spain, measuring in length. Its highest point, the Calar Alto is also the highest peak in the province of Almería and hosts an important astronomical observ ...

, a mountain chain in

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost 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 "historical nationality". The t ...

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 ...

. It is also the highest peak in the said mountain range. It hosts the Calar Alto astronomical observatory, which benefits from two aspects of the climate in the region: the dry atmosphere reduces the restrictions that atmospheric water vapor adds to the transmission characteristics of seeing through the atmosphere (see also the article

Tabernas Desert The Tabernas Desert ( es, Desierto de Tabernas) is one of Spain's semi-arid deserts, located within Spain's south-eastern province of Almería. It is in the interior, about north of the provincial capital Almería, in the Tabernas municipalit ...

), and the low number of cloudy nights adds nicely to the efficiency of observations through the year.

External links

Calar Alto Observatory Homepage
{{Spain-geo-stub Mountains of Andalusia Geography of the Province of Almería Penibaetic System Two-thousanders of Spain