Veleta (from the Arab word "Balata", meaning cliff) or Pico del Veleta is the second highest peak of the

Iberian peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

and the Sierra Nevada. Its height is given variously as , and . The mountain can be seen from the city of

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

. Veleta's northern slopes are home to the

Sierra Nevada Ski Station The Sierra Nevada Ski Station is a ski resort in the Sierra Nevada in the province of Granada in southeastern Spain. The ski area is on the northwestern slopes of Veleta, the third highest peak in Peninsular Spain and the most southerly ski res ...

. The access road that takes one to approximately 10 metres below the summit is the highest paved road in Europe across the mountains from Granada to the western

Alpujarras The Alpujarra (, Arabic: ''al-bussarat'') is a natural and historical region in Andalusia, Spain, on the south slopes of the Sierra Nevada and the adjacent valley. The average elevation is above sea level. It extends over two provinces, ...

. This road was built before the creation of the Sierra Nevada National Park in 1999. It has since been closed to general traffic beyond Hoya de la Mora, just above the ski station. However, the road is still used by ski station employees, national park rangers, observatory staff, cyclists and walkers, and a microbus service also takes hikers up to Posiciones del Veleta, a viewpoint 3,100 metres above sea level. In summer it is a relatively easy walk up to the summit from there. The Corral de la Veleta or Corral del Veleta glacier, at 37° N the southernmost

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

in Europe, disappeared in 1913.Veleta or Pico de Veleta - Iberianature
/ref> The

IRAM 30m telescope The IRAM 30-meter telescope is a radio telescope used for astronomical observations in the millimeter range of wavelengths, operated by the Institute for Radio Astronomy in the Millimeter Range (IRAM) and located in the Sierra Nevada, Spain, cl ...

is located on the slopes of Pico Veleta, at an elevation of 2920 m.

References

External links

Profile on climbbybike.comEl Corral del Veleta
Sierra Nevada (Spain) Baetic three-thousanders Penibaetic System Mountains of Andalusia {{Spain-geo-stub

See also

References

External links