INDEX
INTRODUCTION
FAUNA
FLORA
GEOLOGY
CURIOSITY
Introduction
Sierra nevada is a mountain range belonging to the set of the Andalusian ones, specifically to the penibéticos’ systems. It is placed in Andalusia, between the provinces of Granada and Almeria. It is the mountain range of major altitude of the whole western europe, after the Alps.
Its biggest point is the Mulhacén (3483 meters), which is in the from Granada’s province. The biggest point of the province of Almeria is the Chullo (2608 meters).
Fauna
Sierra Nevada possesses also a big number of endemic invertebrates, of which 15 are butterflies, like Polyommatus golgus or much known Parnasius apollo nevadensis; there are 37 endemic coleopterous ones and 90 exclusive species of aquatic insects.
But, the indisputable queen of the fauna in Sierra Nevada is the goat wild, Capra pyrenaica, which usually grazes in the most mountainous places of the Saw. The birds form a very important and quite represented community. Aquila emphasizes chrysaetos (Golden eagle), Prunella collaris (Alpine Hedge sparrow) and Monticola saxatilis (Roquero Rojo).
FLORA
The massif of Sierra Nevada represents, for the flora and vegetation, one of the territories with major importance in the western Mediterranean.
The list gathers species like Amelanchier ovalis, Carex camposii, Carex furva, Euphorbia nevadensis, Leontodon boryi, Hispanic Luzula and Salix elaeagnos subsp.
Celtis australis and Quercus pirenaica are considered to be Species of Special Interest.
The massif of Sierra Nevada presents a much raised number of endemics, approximately 60 exclusive species. On the other hand there is a big number of North African species
In this massif all the bioclimatic apartments are represented, from the termomediterráneo, which is located in some areas of the Alpujarra and where the Andalusian oak woods develop along with palm hearts, orange trees and algarrabos; as the oromedieterráneo (piornales and enebrales nevadenses, and the sabinares and Andalusian pine groves) and the crioromediterraneo, trees do not exist, but in that the pastures develop nevadenses of high mountain. In the intermediate apartments, meso and supra, we can find the nevadenses oak woods, gall-oak groves and steel them Andalusian, as well as the oak groves nevadenses.
This variety of bioclimatic apartments provokes a really impressive fact.
4.
GEOLOGY
Sierra Nevada, jointly with the Andalusian ones and all the mountain ranges on the banks of the Mediterranean Sea, formed during the Alpine orogeny of the Tertiary one in the south of Europe, with sediments of the Primary and Secondary age: grains of quartz, clays and oxides of iron, fundamentally. The accumulation of a gross gelds of materials in the fund the marine waters of the sea of Tetis more than 200 million years ago, and submitted to the enormous pressures, they transformed the sedimentary rocks in metamorphic. Later, there begins the raising of the already folded materials and it is emerging little by little of the waters. Later, it went over to a point in which the raising and abombamiento it came to its limit and the materials broke, sliding some on others, and forming a series of local very typical flaws.
5.
CURIOSITY
Animals who resist the cold: Only two animals support the intense cold of the high areas of Sierra Nevada: the topillo nival that remains under ground and the Alpine hedge sparrow. The others emigrate towards the lowest areas. In fact, they could have seen the goats of Sierra Nevada in areas as distant as Nipper.
The piornos: a natural overcoat. The cold in the heights of Sierra Nevada is so intense that many insects cannot live in the above mentioned areas. Some of them use the interior of the piornos to hibernate up to the summer following and like that to turn into butterflies. It has been proved that in the coldest epochs, the piornos can maintain a temperature of 17th C in the center.