La Cadena is a mountain in the

Frigiliana Frigiliana is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. The municipality is situated approximately 71 kilometers east of Málaga, the provincial capital, and approximate ...

municipality of the

Province of Málaga The province of Málaga ( es, Provincia de Málaga ) is located in Andalusia, Spain. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the south and by the provinces of Cádiz to the west, Seville to the northwest, Córdoba to the north, and Granada to ...

in southern Spain, in the

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 ...

Location

La Cadena is one of the main peaks of the

Sierras of Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama Natural Park The Sierras of Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama Natural Park ( es, Parque natural de las Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara y Alhama) is a protected area in the Spanish provinces of Málaga and Granada. It contains the Sierra de Tejeda and Sierra de Almijara ...

. The peak of La Cadena has an elevation of . To reach the peak a climber must walk along a very narrow ridge with sections no more than wide and sections that are very broken. The rocks are firm, but may be slippery and dangerous if they are wet or icy. At the summit there is a hunting reserve sign and a small iron cross, both well-embedded in the rock.

Geology

The Sierra de Almijara is a rough mass of marble mountains with sharp ridges that stretches east from the Puerto de Cómpeta. The mountains contain narrow ridges separated by deep valleys cut by the streams and rivers, resulting in many small sub-basins. All of the park has the

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 ...

formations of the Subbética region, with

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

s, phyllites, etc. The area is rich in

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...

and

gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...

over 300 million years old. The Sierra de Almijara holds one of the Spain's main sources of

dolomitic Dolomite () is an anhydrous carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate, ideally The term is also used for a sedimentary carbonate rock composed mostly of the mineral dolomite. An alternative name sometimes used for the dolomiti ...

marble. The marble gives white and gray tones to the ridges and ravines.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Navachica Mountains of Andalusia