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Liébana is a '' comarca'' of Cantabria (
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
). It covers 575 square kilometres and is located in the far southwest of Cantabria, bordering
Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...
, León and Palencia. It is made up of the municipalities of: Cabezón de Liébana, Camaleño, Cillorigo de Liébana, Pesaguero, Potes, Tresviso and Vega de Liébana.


Geography

Liébana is a closed mountainous ''comarca'', constituted by four valleys (Valdebaró, Cereceda, Valdeprao and Cillorigo) that connect in Potes, the centre of the ''comarca''. Its main rivers are the
Deva Deva may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Deva, List of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition monsters, an ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition monster * Deva, in the 2023 Indian film ''Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefir ...
, the Quiviesa and the Buyón. The steep-sided uplands are formed of
Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
affected by
karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...
ic processes.
Shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of Clay mineral, clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g., Kaolinite, kaolin, aluminium, Al2Silicon, Si2Oxygen, O5(hydroxide, OH)4) and tiny f ...
and
sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
can be found in the bottom of the valleys. The considerable deepness of the valleys, with big differences in altitude and steep slopes creates a great wide variety of environments which allow for a multitude of vegetable species: beeches, holm oaks, cork oaks and other types of oaks (''Quercus robur, Quercus Pyrenaica'' and ''Quercus lusitania''), grazing pastures and cultivated crops. Its narrow relief makes it have a microclimate different from the rest of the region, affected by an Atlantic climate. So, while in the bottom of the valley of Liébana a
Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
can be enjoyed, it shifts progressively as we ascend to a humid Atlantic climate until subalpine conditions are reached in the high peaks of Picos de Europa. The average annual temperatures are 28°C maximum and 8°C minimum, with a lower precipitation rate than in other Cantabrian zones (800 mm annually versus 1,000 to 1,200 mm of average in the region).


Municipalities

The seven municipalities, with their areas and populations, are set out below:


Economy

The economy of the ''comarca'' of Liébana has shifted from the primary sector to the rural tourism boom, thanks to its landscapes and the appeal of the Picos de Europa National Park. Nevertheless, the development brought by tourism has affected the township of Potes, capital of the ''comarca'' almost exclusively, to the detriment of the rest of the villages of the valley. Thus, Potes in the late 20th century enjoyed population growth, the other settlements were undergoing a decrease in population. However since 2000 Potes has been declining in population, in line with the rest of the comarca.


History

At the end of the 14th century, King John I of Castile granted the lordship of Liébana to his cousin Don Juan Téllez of Castile, Lord of Aguilar de Campoo and son of the Infante Don Tello of Castile. Towards the second half of the 15th century, the possession of the lordship of Liébana was the cause of one of the frequent peerage wars of that time, and subsequently of a long lawsuit between the heirs of Don Juan Téllez of Castile (the Marquises of Aguilar de Campoo) and the successors of the second marriage of his wife Doña Leonor de la Vega (the Dukes of Infantado). In 1576 the courts passed sentence in favor of the House of Infantado. Saint Beatus of Liébana (c. 730 – c. 800) settled in the region, where he died. He was a monk, theologian and geographer, remembered as the compiler of the '' Commentary on the Apocalypse'', written in 776, which contains one of the earliest Christian world-maps.


See also

* Santo Toribio de Liébana


Bibliography

*''Songbook of Liébana'', Matilde Camus 1977


External links


Walking routes in Liébana

Liebana.net

Center of Studies of Liébana

2006-2007 Liébanan Jubilee Year


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liebana Comarcas of Cantabria Valleys of Cantabria Green Spain Picos de Europa