The Peak of Puigmal (), also called Puigmal d'Er, is a mountain 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 ...

, in the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

border, within the limits of the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Queralbs Queralbs () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Ripollès in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the Pyrenees to the north of Ribes de Freser, near the peaks of Puigmal (2909 m), Infern (2896 m) and ...

and the

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

of Err. Its summit is above sea level, one of the highest peaks in the eastern

.Institut Cartogràfic de Catalunya
Puigmal d'Err is near the west end of a fine ridge over 2500m high for 16 km. The west half is composed of friable metasediments (

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes o ...

s) which break down to form smooth slopes, and so give easy walking. The east half is of tougher

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 ...

and forms spiky alpine scenery with sharp crests and some difficult places. Several excellent circuits can be made from Nuria. The plateau summit of Puigmal d'Err is split for several hundred metres by a bold scarp, in places over 20 metres high, with the eastern half having slipped bodily towards Nuria. This is clearly seen on GoogleEarth. Several other crests in this range are likewise split.Jarman David, Calvet Marc, Corominas Jordi, Delmas Magali, Gunnell Yanni 2014 Geografiska Annaler A96 357-391 Large-scale rock slope failures in the Eastern Pyrenees

References

Mountains of the Pyrenees Mountains of Pyrénées-Orientales Mountains of Catalonia International mountains of Europe France–Spain border Emblematic summits of Catalonia {{Catalonia-geo-stub

See also

References