The Sierra Espuña is a mountain range in the

Region of Murcia The Region of Murcia (, ; es, Región de Murcia ), is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain located in the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. The region is in ...

, Spain. It is part of the

Penibaetic System The Penibaetic System ( es, Sistema Penibético or ''Cordillera Penibética'') is the southernmost of the three systems of mountain ranges of the Baetic System in the southern Iberian Peninsula. It includes the highest point in the peninsula, 3 ...

. The Sierra Espuña Regional Park protects 17,804 ha of the mountain range in the municipalities of

Alhama de Murcia Alhama de Murcia is a Spanish municipality in the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia. It is located in the north of the southern half of the region. The municipality shares borders with Librilla in its north, Murcia in its northeast, Fue ...

Totana Totana is a municipality in the Region of Murcia in Spain. It has a population of 32008. The local economy is largely dependent on agriculture and related industries. It has a railway station providing a service on the Cercanías Murcia/Alicante c ...

and Mula. The highest peak, also known as Espuña, is at 1,583 metres. The summit itself is a military area. It houses the 13th Air Surveillance Squadron (EVA 13)

radar station Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, wea ...

, part of the

Spanish Air and Space Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = Spanish Air and Space Force Anthem , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 December , equipment ...

. By the end of the 19th century, the entire mountain range was in a poor ecological state, with the almost total loss of its tree cover and at risk of desertification. In 1889, the forest engineer Ricardo Codorníu undertook the enormous task of reforesting the entire mountain range. This reforestation task became a model for his time. In 1931 the area was declared a natural site of national interest, and in 1992 it was protected as a Regional Park. It is also listed as a

Special Protection Area A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cert ...

for birds and a place of community importance (LIC).

Sites of interest

Ricardo Corníu Visitors and Management Centre

The Ricardo Corníu Visitors and Management Centre takes its name from the forestry engineer who reforested the entire mountain range in the 19th century. It is an old mansion located in the heart of the Sierra. The centre has an information area, a Projection Room and an Exhibition Room.

Huerta Espuña

Next to the Visitor Centre is the area known as Huerta Espuña. It was the centre of operations for the restoration work directed by Ricardo Codorniú, where the first experimental crops were planted to study their viability in this environment. Currently you can see orchards that were used, some of them now in use for projects to recover protected wild flora.

Pozos de nieve

In the high parts of the sierra are the Pozos de nieve ("snow wells"), ice houses first built at the end of the 16th century to store snow in winter and distribute it in summer in the form of ice to hospitals, cities and towns in the

Kingdom of Murcia After roughly two decades as a protectorate of the Crown of Castile, the territory of the Taifa of Murcia became the Kingdom of Murcia ( es, Reino de Murcia, links=no, a territorial jurisdiction of the Crown of Castile) in the wake of its Conques ...

. These ice houses were in use until the 1920s.

Collado Bermejo viewpoint

This viewpoint offers one of the best panoramic views of the entire Sierra, located at an altitude of 1,201 m.

Barrancos de Gebas

The Gebas barrancos (ravines) are to the east of the main sierra below the village of Gebas. They are badlands like a lunar landscape, made up of gullies, canyons and ravines.

Fauna and flora

Large parts of the Sierra Espuña are covered with pine trees. Oleanders, poplars, elms, birches and willows are found in the riverbeds and ravines. The diverse fauna of the Sierra includes around 120 species of birds, including eagles, jays, hawks, sparrowhawks, eagle owls and larks. Wild boar and squirrels can also be found here. The

Barbary sheep The Barbary sheep (''Ammotragus lervia''), also known as aoudad (pronounced �ɑʊdæd is a species of caprine native to rocky mountains in North Africa. While this is the only species in genus ''Ammotragus'', six subspecies have been describ ...

was introduced to the Sierra Espuña in the 1970s.

Climate

The climate of the Sierra Espuña differs from the rest of the Murcia region: there is around 200 millimeters more precipitation per year, and the temperature is around five degrees Celsius below the regional average.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Spanish Tourist Information: Sierra Espuña Regional ReserveMurcia Tourist website: Sierra EspuñaAlhuma de Murcia Tourism: Paths of Sierra Espuña
Espuna Regional parks of Spain Penibaetic System Protected areas of the Region of Murcia