Serra de São Mamede ( en, Saint Mammes Range) 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 arise ...

Portalegre District Portalegre District ( pt, Distrito de Portalegre ) is located in the east of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Portalegre. As of 2021, it is the least populous district of Portugal. Municipalities The district is composed of 15 mu ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

. This range is named after Saint Mammes. Together with the Serra de Arraiolos, the Serra de São Mamede is one of the few places in the Alentejo region where there might be snow in the winter. This mountain range separates the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of the

Tagus The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to ...

to the north from the basin of the

Guadiana The Guadiana River (, also , , ), or Odiana, is an international river defining a long stretch of the Portugal-Spain border, separating Extremadura and Andalusia (Spain) from Alentejo and Algarve (Portugal). The river's basin extends from the ...

to the south. The main rivers that have their sources in this range are the Sever and Nisa, flowing towards the Tagus, as well as the Caia River and its tributary, the

Arronches Arronches () is a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 3,165, in an area of 314.65 km2. The municipality is located by the Serra de São Mamede in Portalegre District. The present Mayor is Fermelinda Carvalho ( PSD) and the ...

, flowing towards the

. The town of

Marvão Marvão () is a municipality in Portalegre District in Portugal. The population in 2020 was 2,972 (and dropping at a rate of around one inhabitant per week), in an area of 154.90 km2. The present Mayor is Luís Vitorino, elected by the Socia ...

is an ancient fortified town located on a ridge of the range. Its emblematic castle is an archetype of medieval castle-building. It dates back to the times of the ''

Reconquista The ' ( Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Na ...

'', the reconquest 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 ...

from the

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct o ...

. Besides Marvão, Portalegre,

Castelo de Vide Castelo de Vide () is a municipality in Portugal, with a population of 3,407 inhabitants in 2011, in an area of . History It is unclear when humans settled Castelo de Vide, although archaeologists suggest the decision came from the morphology of ...

and Alegrete are other important towns in the area of the range.

Description

The Serra de São Mamede stretches for about 25 km in a NE/SW direction between

and

La Rabaza La Codosera (''Codossera'', in Portuguese) is a municipality located in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. According to the 2006 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 2,269 inhabitants. It is located close to the internati ...

, Cáceres Province,

Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, ...

, at the border with

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 rises in the area of the Alto Alentejo to the west of the parallel

Sierra de San Pedro Sierra de San Pedro is a mountain range in the greater Montes de Toledo range, Spain. It is named after Saint Peter the Apostles in the New Testament, apostle and rises in the limits of Cáceres Province, Cáceres and Badajoz Provinces, in the we ...

across the border and is relatively lower than the latter. Its highest point is high

Pico de São Mamede Pico may refer to: Places The Moon * Mons Pico, a lunar mountain in the northern part of the Mare Imbrium basin Portugal * Pico, a civil parish in the municipality of Vila Verde * Pico da Pedra, a civil parish in the municipality of Ribeir ...

, the highest summit in Continental Portugal south of the

. Other important peaks are ''Fria'', ''Pico de Marvão'' and the ''Penha da Castelo de Vide''.

Physiographic Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the three main branches of geography. Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere, ...

ally this range is part of the western end of the greater

Montes de Toledo The Montes de Toledo are one of the main systems of mountain ranges in the Iberian Peninsula. They divide the drainage basin of the Tagus from the basin of the Guadiana. The highest peak is high La Villuerca. Description The Montes de Toledo are ...

, one of the main mountain systems of the

. The climate of the range is between the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

and the

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

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 trees such as

cork oak ''Quercus suber'', commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section ''Quercus'' sect. ''Cerris''. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring and as the co ...

and Pyrenean oak are prevalent in the areas covered with natural vegetation. Some of the higher altitudes have rocky outcrops where shrub grows between the crags. Holm oak is found on

xeric Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (ancient Greek xērós, “dry") shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this h ...

sites and

Sweet chestnut ''Castanea sativa'', the sweet chestnut, Spanish chestnut or just chestnut, is a species of tree in the family Fagaceae, native to Southern Europe and Asia Minor, and widely cultivated throughout the temperate world. A substantial, long-lived ...

grows at higher elevations. On the lower slopes there are large areas of

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

and

maritime pine ''Pinus pinaster'', the maritime pine or cluster pine, is a pine native to the south Atlantic Europe region and parts of the western Mediterranean. It is a hard, fast growing pine bearing small seeds with large wings. Description ''Pinus pinast ...

, as well as scattered patches planted with non-native species such as

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of Flowering plant, flowering trees, shrubs or Mallee (habit), mallees in the Myrtaceae, myrtle Family (biology), family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the Tribe (biology) ...

. The

Serra de Sao Mamede Natural Park Serra (Latin for " saw") may refer to: People * Serra (footballer) (born 1961), Portuguese footballer * Serra (surname) * Serra (given name) Cities, towns, municipalities Brazil * Serra, Espírito Santo, a city in the Greater Vitória area *A ...

is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

located within the limits of the range. The park features one of the largest bat colonies in Europe. The

griffon vulture The Eurasian griffon vulture (''Gyps fulvus'') is a large Old World vulture in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. It may also be known as the Griffon vulture, though it may be used for the genus as a whole. It is not to be confused with ...

and

Bonelli's eagle The Bonelli's eagle (''Aquila fasciata'') is a large bird of prey. The common name of the bird commemorates the Italian ornithologist and collector Franco Andrea Bonelli. Bonelli is credited with gathering the type specimen, most likely from an ...

are also found in the range.

Geology

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 ...

and Dolomite are predominant, especially in the higher levels of the range.

Granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies und ...

is present in the southwestern area of the mountains between Portalegre and Fortios.Serra de São Mamede - Geologia

References

External links

*
Sierra de Montánchez - Tourism

Hiking in the Serra de São Mamede

As Águas Subterrâneas da Serra de São MamedeSerra de São Mamede - Portalegre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Serra de Sao Mamede Mountain ranges of Portugal Geography of Portalegre District Montes de Toledo Natura 2000 in Portugal

Description

Geology

See also

References

External links