The Sierra de Guara is a mountain massif in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Huesca Huesca (; an, Uesca) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the autonomous community of Aragon. It is also the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and of the comarca of Hoya de Huesca. In 2009 it had a population of 52,059, almo ...

, the most northerly province in the

autonomous community eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

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 , 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 highest point is Tozal de Guara (2,077 m). It lies around 25 km northeast of the city of Huesca itself. Much of the massif is now included within the

Sierra y Cañones de Guara Natural Park The Sierra y Cañones de Guara Natural Park (Spanish: Parque natural de la Sierra y los Cañones de Guara) is a Spanish Natural park in the Sierra de Guara mountain range, located in the Province of Huesca, Aragon, northern Spain. It was establi ...

which extends 43 km from west to east and 25 km north to south. The Park includes, in addition to the Sierra de Guara itself, much of the Sierra de Gabardiella in the west and the Sierra de Arangol, Sierra de Balced, Sierra de Sebil and Sierra de Rufás in the east.

Landscape features

A number of rivers flow north-south through the area, the principal ones having their sources to the north of the massif and cut through the range by way of spectacular gorges such as those of the Rio Alcanadre, Rio Guatizalema, Rio Vero and Rio Isuala. Each of these rivers ultimately drain into the

Ebro , name_etymology = , image = Zaragoza shel.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza , map = SpainEbroBasin.png , map_size = , map_caption = The Ebro ...

Geology

The massif is formed mainly from

Palaeogene The Paleogene ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning o ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and, on its southern edge, an overlying coarse sandstone of the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

age which is largely made up of conglomeratic rock.

Towns and villages

The area is sparsely populated with a number of abandoned villages within its interior. The villages of

Alquézar Alquézar ( Aragonese: ''Alquezra'') is a municipality in the province of Huesca, in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. As of 2012, its population was 301. Overview Situated on a limestone outcrop of the Eocene age to the west of the can ...

and Rodellar have been reinvigorated in recent years by tourist development. To the northeast, outside of the natural park, lies the historic city of Ainsa and to the south lies

Barbastro Barbastro (Latin: ''Barbastrum'' or ''Civitas Barbastrensis'', Aragonese: ''Balbastro'') is a city in the Somontano county, province of Huesca, Spain. The city (also known originally as Barbastra or Bergiduna) is at the junction of the rivers Cinc ...

Sport and recreation

The area has become known in recent years for its considerable opportunities for

canyoning Canyoning (canyoneering in the United States, kloofing in South Africa) is a type of mountaineering that involves travelling in canyons using a variety of techniques that may include other outdoor activities such as walking, scrambling, climbin ...

due to its many gorges.

Rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

and

caving Caving – also known as spelunking in the United States and Canada and potholing in the United Kingdom and Ireland – is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology i ...

are also popular activities whilst others enjoy walking and wildlife-watching. In particular, the climbing area of Rodellar, named after the nearby village, has become one of the most famous climbing areas in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

References

External links

Parque Natural de la Sierra de GuaraArraro; al pie del Tozal de Guara
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guara Guara Pre-Pyrenees