Betic Cordilleras
The Bética mountain ranges, or Bético system, are a group of mountainous systems that extend through the south-southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. They extend for more than 600 km, from the Strait of Gibraltar to Cabo de la Nao, even continuing below the Mediterranean Sea to the Sierra de Tramontana in Mallorca. They are part of the Gibraltar Arc and are subdivided into the Prebética, Subbética and Penibética mountain ranges.
This is one of the main sets of relief in Spain. Its narrowest end is in the area of the Strait of Gibraltar and it widens towards the east, where it comes into contact with the Hercynian base of the Central Plateau.
The name of the mountain system derives from the ancient Roman province of Baetica, one of the provinces of imperial Rome in Hispania.
Geography
To the north it is limited by the Guadalquivir valley and by the southern edge of the Iberian System, while the Alboran Sea is located on the southern edge. However, as in the case of the Pyrenees, in a geological sense, it extends beyond the geographical limits, extending to the south under the sea and to the NE part of its structures are continued without interruption by the bottom of the Mediterranean and part of the Balearic promontory to the island of Majorca.
The Betic mountain range, together with the Rif mountain range (North Africa) forms the westernmost segment of the Mediterranean alpine orogen. These two mountain ranges are currently separated by the Neogene Alborán basin and are located between two Hercynian bases, the Iberian to the north and the African to the south.
Traditionally four units have been distinguished within the Betic Cordilleras, from north to south:
The Prebética mountain range
It extends through the south of Spain, to the east of the Subbética Mountain Range, from the provinces of Jaén and Granada to the province of Alicante. Among others, it is made up of the Cazorla, Segura, Alcaraz, Castril, La Sagra, Taibilla, Revolcadores Massif, María mountain ranges (between the Penibético and Prebético systems), Mariola mountain range, Aitana mountain range, until it disappears in the Mediterranean after the Massif of Montgó, the Sierra de Segaria, the Sierra de Bernia and the Peñón de Ifach.
The Subbética mountain range
It runs from Gibraltar to the province of Jaen. Some of the various mountains and mountains that make it up are from west to east. From Los Alcornocales, the Sierra de Grazalema, Sierra de Gibalbín, the Subbéticas mountain ranges of Córdoba, Sierra Elvira, Sierra de Loja, Sierra Sur de Jaén, Sierra Harana and Sierra de Huétor, the latter in contact with the Penibético system and finally Sierra Superimposed magic on the prebético system.
Intrabetic groove
They are a series of depressions, more or less closed and separated from each other, that are interspersed between the Béticas mountain ranges and the Penibética mountain range (Ronda, Antequera, Granada, Baza, Guadix, Huéscar, etc.). They are called intrabetic groove or Penibetic depression.
The Penibética Mountain Range
The Cordillera Penibética is the southernmost of the Cordilleras Béticas, and runs along the southern coast of Andalusia, from the cliffs of Roche (Conil de la Frontera), in the province of Cádiz, to Sierra Cabrera (Mojácar) in the province of Almería. A little further north, after more or less defined depressions, are the Subbética and Prebética mountain ranges.
The main mountain ranges that make it up, from west to east, are, among others, the Serranía de Ronda, the Antequerana mountain range, the Mijas mountain range, the Málaga mountains, the Tejeda mountain range, the Almijara mountain range, the Sierra Nevada, the Lújar, Sierra de la Contraviesa, Sierra de Gádor, Sierra de Baza, Sierra de los Filabres, Sierra de Las Estancias and Sierra Alhamilla among others.
Geology
Like the Pyrenees, this chain was formed as a consequence of the compressional regime that began at the end of the Cretaceous and mainly affected the northern and southern edges of the Iberian plate. However, unlike the Pyrenees, its structure and subsequent evolution is much more complex, since this chain results from the interaction of two large plates and a continental block (Alborán microplate, current Internal Zones) that moves to the west. and that finally collides against the Mesozoic margins of Iberia and NW of Africa, forming the Betic-Rifeña Cordillera.
The mountain ranges are divided according to genetic reasons, that is, depending on where the materials that gave rise to the different parts within the Betic group are formed. In alpine folding, the plinth is also uplifted along with the sediments and forms part of the folded structures. The nomenclature or geological extension of these units should not be confused with the geographical divisions, sometimes with similar names.
- Bética internal zone: contains socket materials, in addition to sediments.
- Botic external zone: only contains sediments.
- Gibraltar Field Units: Between the internal and external areas are the units of the flysch of the Gibraltar countryside
Between these zones there are great differences of structural type and lithological components:
Internal area
The extension of the internal zone coincides, in general lines, with the Penibética mountain range.
The internal zone is very complex due to its lithology and structure, since it includes sedimentary materials from the bottom of the trench and from the pre-alpine base itself raised by the alpine folding; In addition, the materials have undergone metamorphic processes and materials of volcanic origin appear. From the point of view of the structure, it is more complicated since the push from south to north produced by the alpine folding has caused them not only to fold but also to move in this direction in the form of landslide sheets.
The outer zone
It is divided into two large units: Prebético and Subbético. In general terms, it could be said that they coincide with the Subbéticas, but one of the parts of the outer zone takes the name of Subbético, with which geographers refer to the entire area, including also Prebético.
The outer zone has been formed from sedimentary materials uplifted by alpine thrust folded and sometimes slightly overthrown. This area has not been affected by metamorphic phenomena or by volcanism related to the alpine folding itself.
The intrabetic groove can be part of the internal or external zone and is not of great importance to geologists since it is morphology.
The Betic mountain ranges form the most important set of the Peninsula. They have a length of about 600 km, greater than that of the Pyrenees. They also have a greater width in their central part and their maximum altitude (Mulhacén) is also greater than that of the Pyrenees (Aneto). On the other hand, as a typical Mediterranean mountain, it gives less sensation of a mountain due, among other reasons, to its lesser continuity. The Betic mountain ranges have morphological characteristics that differentiate them from a typically alpine mountain range and that make them Mediterranean mountains. These are:
- Your compartment. They do not form a continuous barrier and are formed by a series of mountainous massifs separated by corridors that make them lose that feeling of continuity. These corridors are the ones that man has used to penetrate from the sea or establish the main communication systems.
- Pasillo Granada-Motril, between the Sierra de Almijara and Sierra Nevada.
- Pasillo Guadix-Almeria, through the Andarax valley between the mountains of Baza and the mountains of the Filabres.
- Pasillo Baza-Huéscar-Almeria, through the valley of Almanzora between the mountains of the Estancias and that of the Filabres.
- The alomado character of the highest parts of the mountain range. Its height is similar to that of the Pyrenees but, however, its sense of height is less than that of the central area of the Pyrenees. The lack of agressive forms (wigs, crests, etc.) also makes the feeling of height less. This is due to the structure in handles of corrimiento of the mountain range but also to the softness of the materials that make up the central core of Sierra Nevada. To this circumstance they have been able to contribute the great glacier periods, which have left their footprints in the wide and soft glacier valleys. It is on the edge of the Penibetic set, of lower altitude, where a landscape with greater mountain sensation is given due to the existence of limes and dolomites, which are arranged in the form of aureola around Sierra Nevada in the area called the Calar.
Structure of the Betic systems
The structure is quite complex. Because of this, its study has been quite slow. Throughout history, different theories have been adopted. At first it was thought that we were actually facing a large fold gutted by erosion in its central part, so that the Subbética mountain range was formed to the north and the Penibética mountain range to the south.
Later it was thought that they were actually two parallel folds, one higher than the other, and that they were separated by a valley.
In the middle of the s. In the XX century, modern theories on the structure of the Betic mountain ranges will emerge, which later have been modified at specific points. The idea is established that the Betic mountain ranges are the result of landslide blankets. The first studies were carried out by Blumenthal, who carried out a series of studies between 1927 and 1950, especially in the western half of the Betic mountain ranges. On the other hand, Fallot also carried out a series of studies in the eastern half between 1918 and 1960. Since then we can say that the investigations have not stopped and that they have increased with the passage of time. There are several research teams: Danish, German and Dutch, which are investigating and deepening the studies by Blumenthal and Fallot. We must also highlight the Spanish team from the Granada geological school, founded by the Catalan Fondbote. This means that little by little the structure of the Penibética mountain range has been defined, which is the most complicated structure.
- External area: folds with slight horseback riding.
- Internal area: where those corrimiento blankets would be given in all their complexity, which give it a greater structural and litological complexity.
Protected natural areas
In the area of the Betica mountain range, the following protected natural spaces have been declared:
- Natural Park of the Strait
- Natural Park of Los Alcornocales
- Natural Park of the Sierra de Grazalema
- Nature Reserve of the Rock of Zaframagón
- Natural landscape of the Sierra Crestellina
- Natural landscape Los Reales de Sierra Bermeja
- Sierra de las Nieves National Park
- Natural Paraje del desfiladero de los Gaitanes
- Natural Paraje del Torcal de Antequera
- Natural park of the Montes de Malaga
- Natural park of the Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama
- Natural landscape of the cliffs of Maro-Cerro Gordo
- Natural park of the Sierras Subbéticas
- Natural park of Sierra de Huétor
- Natural park and Sierra Nevada National Park
- Natural park of the Sierra de Baza
- Natural landscape of Sierra Alhamilla
- Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park
- Natural park of Sierra María-Los Vélez
- Natural park of Sierra Mágina
- Natural park of the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas
- Natural park of the Sierra de Castril
- Natural park of Sierra Espuña
- Calblanque Natural Park, Monte de las Cenizas and Peña del Águila
- Natural Park of the Sierra de la Muela, Cabo Tiñoso and Roldán
- Natural park of the Sierra de Mariola
- Natural Park of Carrascal de la Fuente Roja
- Natural Park of the Montgo Massif
- Natural Park of Ifach Rock
- Natural park of the Sierra Helada
Rock of Gibraltar.
Sierra de Almijara.
Sierra Nevada.
Sierra de la Horconera.
Sierra Mágina.
Sierra Alhamilla.
Sierra de Alcaraz.
Sierra Escalona.
Sierra de Mariola.
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