Sierra Madrona 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 ari ...

of the

Sierra Morena The Sierra Morena is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain. It stretches for 450 kilometres from east to west across the south of the Iberian Peninsula, forming the southern border of the '' Meseta Central'' plateau and pro ...

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") , ...

. It is located in

Ciudad Real Province The province of Ciudad Real () is a province in the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It is bordered by the provinces of Cuenca, Albacete, Jaén, Córdoba, Badajoz, and Toledo. It is partly located in ...

, in the region of Castile-La Mancha as well as the Córdoba and Jaén provincial limits,

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...

. Its highest peak, 1,332 m high

Bañuela Bañuela or La Bañuela, also known as ''La Mójina'', is the highest peak of the Sierra Morena, Spain. Description The mountain is 1,332 m high and it is located in a range known as ''Sierra de Navalmanzano'', part of the Sierra Madrona range, a ...

, is the highest point of the whole Sierra Morena system. Other notable summits are Dormideros 1,328 m, ''Corral de Borros'' 1,312 m, Abulagoso 1,301 m and ''Rebollera'' 1,161 m.

Description

Sierra Madrona is a massif composed of a series of subranges including ''Sierra de Quintana'', ''Sierra de Hornilleros'', ''Sierra de Navalmanzano'', ''Sierra de la Garganta'' and ''Sierra del Nacedero''. They are aligned in a NW-SE direction and are separated by narrow valleys. The range is bounded by the Robledillo river valley and ''Sierra de la Solana'' and ''Umbria de Alcudia'' in the North, the Montoro river valley in the East, by the smooth hills of Sierra de Andújar, Sierra Quiteria and Los Pedroches in the South, and by the Yeguas River valley in the West. The range is mostly covered in

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It ...

and is named after the ''madroño'' or ''madroña'', the Strawberry Tree (''Arbutus unedo'') which is abundant in the area. The easiest route to reach it is to drive from

Andújar Andújar () is a Spanish municipality of 38,539 people (2005) in the province of Jaén, in Andalusia. The municipality is divided by the Guadalquivir River. The northern part of the municipality is where the Natural Park of the Sierra de Andú ...

Puertollano Puertollano () is a municipality of Spain located in the province of Ciudad Real, Castile-La Mancha. The city has a population of 47,035 (2019). Contrasting to the largely rural character of the region, Puertollano stands out for the importance o ...

. The

cave paintings In archaeology, Cave paintings are a type of parietal art (which category also includes petroglyphs, or engravings), found on the wall or ceilings of caves. The term usually implies prehistoric origin, and the oldest known are more than 40,000 y ...

of ''Peña Escrita'' and ''La Batanera'' are located in caves within the range area.

Geology

Geologically Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other E ...

the range is made up of

Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ...

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 ...

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

and

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tec ...

, as well as

greywacke Greywacke or graywacke (German ''grauwacke'', signifying a grey, earthy rock) is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness, dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or lit ...

and

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...

. Structurally the range comprises a succession of wide

anticline In structural geology, an anticline is a type of fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex up in which the hinge or crest is t ...

s and

syncline In structural geology, a syncline is a fold with younger layers closer to the center of the structure, whereas an anticline is the inverse of a syncline. A synclinorium (plural synclinoriums or synclinoria) is a large syncline with superimpose ...

s in a

Hercynian The Variscan or Hercynian orogeny was a geologic mountain-building event caused by Late Paleozoic continental collision between Euramerica (Laurussia) and Gondwana to form the supercontinent of Pangaea. Nomenclature The name ''Variscan'', come ...

WNW-ESE direction.Ramiro García Río (2006). ''Flora y vegetación de Sierra Madrona y Valle de Alcudia '',

References

External links

*
Sierra Madrona Official Home Page (in Spanish)
Sierra Morena Mountain ranges of Castilla–La Mancha {{CastileLaMancha-geo-stub

Description

Geology

See also

References

External links