Monte Perdido (in Spanish; Mont Perdu in French; Mont Perdito in Aragonese;all four meaning ''lost mountain'') is the third highest

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

. The summit of Monte Perdido (3355 m), located 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 ...

, lies hidden from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

by the seemingly impenetrable peaks of the Cirques of Gavarnie and Estaubé. It stands in the north of

Huesca province Huesca ( an, Uesca, ca, Osca), officially Huesca/Uesca, is a province of northeastern Spain, in northern Aragon. The capital is Huesca. Positioned just south of the central Pyrenees, Huesca borders France and the French Departments of Haute-Ga ...

. The mountain forms part of the Monte Perdido Range and is located in the

Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park The Ordesa Valley is a glacial valley in Aragon, in the Spanish Pyrenees which forms part of the Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park. It was first discovered in 1820, but not mapped in detail until approximately the 1920s. The valley is about ...

, in the western part of the Pyrenees, in the community of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

, Spain.

Description

Monte Perdido Glacier, locating on the north-facing slope of Monte Perdido, is the third largest glacier in the Pyrenees. It is surrounded by vertical cliffs up to 800m in height. Similar to most European glaciers, the Monte Perdido Glacier has been shrinking since the Little Ice Age, and since 1981, the glacier has lost 48 hectares of surface area. The rate of retreat is continuing to accelarate due to the effects of global

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

. Access to the mountain is easier from

than from France. The route starts near the village of

Torla Torla-Ordesa is a municipality in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. It is in the northwest of the Sobrarbe region, 100 km from the capital of Huesca, and had 298 inhabitants according to the 2018 census (INE). Torla is in the glacial ...

, Aragon, at the

Ordesa Valley The Ordesa Valley is a glacial valley in Aragon, in the Spanish Pyrenees which forms part of the Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park. It was first discovered in 1820, but not mapped in detail until approximately the 1920s. The valley is about ...

and ascends the Cirque de Soaso towards the Refuge of Góriz before the stiff climb to the summit. It is a dangerous climb with snow.

National park

Monte Perdido is the centrepiece of the Spanish

which was established in 1918 with just 21 square kilometres/hectares of land. In the 1970s work began to build a dam in the nearby Añisclo Canyon with the objective of creating hydroelectric energy but institutions and citizens demonstrated against this and succeeded in stopping it. In 1982 the park was expanded significantly to 156 square kilometres/hectares and now incorporates the whole of the Añisclo Canyon. There are more than 1,500 species of flowers, 171 species of birds, 32 different mammals and 8 types of reptile in the Ordesa. Among these is the

lammergeier The bearded vulture (''Gypaetus barbatus''), also known as the lammergeier and ossifrage, is a very large bird of prey and the only member of the genus ''Gypaetus''. Traditionally considered an Old World vulture, it actually forms a separate m ...

(bearded vulture) with a 3-metre

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

. The Pyrenees is one of the few places in Europe where these birds can be seen. Because of its imposing landforms, the national park was inscribed on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...

in 1997 as part of the

Pyrénées – Mont Perdu World Heritage Site The Pyrénées – Mont Perdu World Heritage Site (also known as UNESCO Patrimonio Mundial Pirineos – Monte Perdido in Spanish

References

External links

*
Normal route and Escaleras route to climb Monte Perdido
komandokroketa.org, retrieved 2013-08-20 *

swisseduc.ch, retrieved 2013-08-20 Mountains of Aragon Mountains of the Pyrenees Pyrenean three-thousanders World Heritage Sites in France Mountains partially in France Tourist attractions in Occitania (administrative region) World Heritage Sites in Spain {{aragon-geo-stub

Description

National park

See also

References

External links