The Garraf Massif ( ca, Massís del Garraf, ) is a mountain range of the

Catalan Coastal Range The Catalan Coastal Range ( ca, Serralada Litoral Catalana, ) is a system of mountain ranges running parallel to the Mediterranean Sea coast in Catalonia, Spain. It is part of the Catalan Mediterranean System. Its main axis runs between the Fo ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

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 ...

. Its cliffs reach the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

waters. Its highest point on the coastal side is

La Morella La Morella or Morella is a mountain located in Begues municipality, Catalonia, Spain. It has an elevation of 593 metres above sea level. It is the second highest point of the Garraf Massif, Catalan Coastal Range. The Morella wind 'Morella' is als ...

, 593 metres above sea level and further inland rises the higher, although less conspicuous, Montau (657 m).

Geography

The Garraf Massif gives its name to the

Garraf Garraf (), better known as El Garraf (), is a comarca (county) in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, northern Spain. It is named after the Garraf Massif. The GR 92 long distance footpath, which roughly follows the length of the Mediterranea ...

comarca, as well as to the little seashore village of

. It is located south of

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, between the coastal towns of

Castelldefels Castelldefels () is a municipality in the Baix Llobregat comarca, in the province of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain, and a suburban town of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. Its population is 65,954 ( IDESCAT, 2017). Geography and location It is ...

and

Sitges Sitges (, , ) is a town about 35 kilometres southwest of Barcelona, in Spain, renowned worldwide for its Film Festival, Carnival, and LGBT Culture. Located between the Garraf Massif and the Mediterranean Sea, it is known for its beaches, nightspot ...

. highways C-31 and C-32, as well as the RENFE Barcelona-Valencia railway line go through the shoreline side of the Garraf Massif. The small town of

Olivella Olivella is a municipality in Catalonia, in the province of Barcelona, Spain. It is situated in the comarca of Garraf. History The first known village in the area was founded in 992 around a castle known as ''Castell vell''. The inhabitants l ...

, Plana Novella with its

Buddhist monastery Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

, as well as the abandoned village of Jafra are located in the middle of the massif, in th
Natural Park area
This coastal

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an adje ...

mountain range is sparsely wooded, and has many rocky denuded areas. The main vegetation is

maquis shrubland 220px, Low maquis in Corsica 220px, High ''macchia'' in Sardinia ( , , ) or ( , ; often in Italian; hr, makija; ; ) is a shrubland biome in the Mediterranean region, typically consisting of densely growing evergreen shrubs. Maquis is char ...

and the

Mediterranean Fan Palm ''Chamaerops'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Arecaceae. The only currently fully accepted species is ''Chamaerops humilis'', variously called European fan palm or the Mediterranean dwarf palm. It is one of the most cold-hardy p ...

is an endemic species of these mountains. It has over 400 karstic

shafts ''Shafts'' was an English feminist magazine produced by Margaret Sibthorp from 1892 until 1899. Initially published weekly and priced at one penny, its themes included votes for women, women's education, and radical attitudes towards vivisection, ...

and

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s, including

La Falconera LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

, a very large cave with an underground lake that is now heavily polluted.

Ecology

Despite having been declared a

Protected Area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

by the

Catalan Government The Generalitat de Catalunya (; oc, label= Aranese, Generalitat de Catalonha; es, Generalidad de Cataluña), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia politically organizes its self-government. It is formed ...

, there are many seriously degraded areas throughout the massif. These include

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their environ ...

and vast

rubbish dumps A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...

that are very active and keep degrading the mountains and polluting their

karstic Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

underground lakes and rivers. Over 23 million tons of garbage have accumulated in the ''Vall d'en Joan'' landfill alone.

Urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...

has covered different zones of the range, especially in locations close to

, as well as on the

side. There the mountain sides are covered with mostly

bungalows A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a bu ...

or small houses, especially in the seafront areas.Xavier Bayer i Cisco Guasch, ''Paratges naturals: Massís del Garraf i conques de l’Anoia, del Foix i del Gaià'',

References

Bibliography

* Estanislau Vayreda, "Catàleg de la flòrula de la Mare de Déu del Mont", ''Treballs de la Institució Catalana d'Història Natural'', 1919–1920, pp. 360–442.

External links

{{Commons category, Massís del Garraf
Garraf

L'acció antròpica sobre les Muntanyes de Garraf
Mountains of Catalonia Garraf

Geography

Ecology

See also

References

Bibliography

External links