The Sierra de Francia is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

located in Sierra de Francia Comarca at the southern end of

Salamanca Province Salamanca () is a province of western Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Castile and León (Castilla y León). It is bordered by the provinces of Zamora, Valladolid, Ávila, and Cáceres, and on the west by Portugal. It ha ...

, Castile and León,

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 located about 70 km from

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...

city. The region is sparsely inhabited and its few towns have great cultural value. Most of the Sierra de Francia's territory, together with the valley of

Las Batuecas Las Batuecas is a Spanish valley region of the Sierra de Francia in Salamanca Province, Castilla y León. It is located in the vicinity of La Alberca and is named after the river that runs through Las Batuecas. It has a monastery of cloistered ...

was declared Las Batuecas-Sierra de Francia Natural Park in 1978. Together with neighboring Sierra de Béjar it constitutes a

Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

. Some of the towns of the comarca have been officially declared Conjunto Histórico-Artístico owing to their cultural and architectural value.Web de Turismo de la Junta de Castilla y León

Geography

The Sierra de Francia is one of the mountain ranges belonging to the

Sistema Central The Central System, Spanish and pt, Sistema Central, is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in the Iberian Peninsula. The 2,592 m high Pico Almanzor is its highest summit. The Central System is located just north of the 40th parallel a ...

. Its forested mountain slopes (

alder Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

and

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

) rise over the Northern Castilian Plateau, marking the geographical limit of its southwestern plains (''Llanura Salmantina''). From its southern side this mountain chain marks the northern limit of

Las Hurdes Las Hurdes (; Extremaduran: ''Las Jurdis'') is a ''comarca'' in the Sistema Central, at the northern end of the province of Cáceres in the Autonomous Community of Extremadura, Spain. A well-known historical region, Las Hurdes is currently a Site ...

, the

Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...

n comarca. The Sierra de Francia consists of a quite regular succession of peaks of moderate height, of which the Pico de La Hastiala (1.735 m) is the highest. At the top of the

Peña de Francia The Peña de Francia is a mountain that rises to , south of the Salamanca, Autonomous Region of Castile and León, Spain, whose peak belongs to the municipality of El Cabaco. Location It belongs to the municipality of El Cabaco, it is one of t ...

(1723 m) stands one of the highest

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

shrines of the world, as well as a

RTVE The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española, S.A. (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española or RTVE, is the state-owned public corporation that assumed in 2007 the indirect management of the Spanish public radio and television service know ...

antenna. Other summits worth mentioning are the Mesa del Francés (1.638 m) and the Pico Robledo (1.614 m). All these peaks are usually covered with snow in the winter season. Among the rivers that cut valleys in the sierra, the most famous is the Río Francia, which gives the mountain chain its name, as well as the Alagón.

References

External links

Diputación de Salamanca - Turismo - Sierra de Francia.

Web de Turismo de la Junta de Castilla y León.

{{Authority control

Francia Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...

Biosphere reserves of Spain

Geography of the Province of Salamanca Natural parks of Spain Protected areas established in 1978 Protected areas of Castile and León