The Baetic System or Betic System () is one of the main systems of

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 aris ...

s in

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 ...

. Located in the southern and eastern

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

, it is also known as the Cordilleras Béticas (Baetic Mountain Ranges) or Baetic Mountains. The name of the mountain system derives from the

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

region of

Baetica Hispania Baetica, often abbreviated Baetica, was one of three Roman provinces created in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula) in 27 BC. Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Tarraconensis. Baetica remained one of ...

, one of the Imperial

Roman provinces The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as gover ...

of ancient

Hispania Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...

Geography

The Baetic System is made up of multiple mountain ranges that reach from western

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

to the

Region of Murcia The Region of Murcia (, ; ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain located in the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. The region is in area and had a popul ...

, southern Castile-La Mancha and southern

Land of Valencia Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land surface ...

. To the north, the Baetic Ranges are separated from the

Meseta Central The ''Meseta Central'' (, sometimes referred to in English as Inner Plateau) is one of the basic geographical units of the Iberian Peninsula. It consists of a plateau covering a large part of the latter's interior. Developed during the 19th cent ...

and the Sierra Morena by the basin of the

Guadalquivir The Guadalquivir (, also , , ) is the fifth-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula and the second-longest river with its entire length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is the only major navigable river in Spain. Currently it is navigable from Seville ...

. The Iberian System rises north of the eastern part of the Prebaetic System, the northernmost part of the Baetic System. The mountain ranges that are part of this system are generally aligned \along a southwest-northeast direction. The best-known range of the Baetic System is the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

, which contains the

Mulhacén Mulhacén (), with an elevation of , is the highest mountain in peninsular Spain and in all of the Iberian Peninsula. It is part of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada range in the Penibaetic System. It is named after Abu'l-Hasan Ali of Gra ...

, the highest mountain in continental Spain and in the

. The

Rock of Gibraltar The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabal Ṭāriq , meaning "Mountain of Tariq ibn Ziyad, Tariq") is a monolithic limestone mountain high dominating the western entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. It is situated near the end of a nar ...

is also considered part of the Baetic System, but not the Cabo de Gata area further east which includes rocks of

volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

origin.

Geology

The Baetic System as a geological feature belongs to a larger

orogeny Orogeny () is a mountain-mountain formation, building process that takes place at a convergent boundary, convergent plate margin when plate motion compresses the margin. An or develops as the compressed plate crumples and is tectonic uplift, u ...

usually called the Gibraltar Arc, which represents the westernmost edge of the

Alpine Orogeny The Alpine orogeny, sometimes referred to as the Alpide orogeny, is an orogenic phase in the Late Mesozoic and the current Cenozoic which has formed the mountain ranges of the Alpide belt. Cause The Alpine orogeny was caused by the African c ...

. The geodynamic mechanisms responsible for its formation are so far relatively unknown. Geologically the Rif mountains in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and the Serra de Tramuntana in the island of

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

are, respectively, Southwestern and Northeastern extensions of the Baetic System.Dan Davis, ''Commercial Navigation in the Greek and Roman World''
/ref> The Gibraltar Arc geological region follows the Moroccan coast from

Oujda Oujda (, ) is a major city in northeast Morocco near the Algeria–Morocco border, border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental (Morocco), Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of 506,224 people (2024 censu ...

in the east to

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

in the west, then crosses the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.2 kilometers, 8.9 miles) at its narrowest point. Fe ...

and goes east again from

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

and the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

Ecology

The Baetic System is home to a number of

Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub Mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrub is a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The biome is generally characterized by dry summers and rainy winters, although in some areas rainfall may be uniform. Summers are typically hot in ...

plant communities, including shrublands,

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

woodlands,

broadleaf forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological functio ...

s, and

conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

ous forests, which vary with elevation, soils, and topography. The Baetic System, together with the

Rif Mountains The Rif (, ), also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. It is bordered on the north by the Mediterranean Sea and Spain and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the homeland of the Rifians and the Jebala people. ...

of Morocco, which face the Baetic Ranges across the Alboran Sea, is one of the Mediterranean basin's ten

biodiversity hotspot A biodiversity hotspot is a ecoregion, biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation. Norman Myers wrote about the concept in two articles in ''The Environmentalist'' in 1988 and 1990, after ...

s, known to ecologists as the Baetic-Rifan complex. The Baetic mountains are home to a rich assemblage of Mediterranean plants, including a number of

relict A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon. Biology A relict (or relic) is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas. Geology and geomorphology In geology, a r ...

species from the ancient

laurel forest Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and el ...

s, which covered much of the Mediterranean basin millions of years ago when it was more humid.

Subdivision

The Baetic System is divided into the following sub-chains (from south to north):

Penibaetic System

The Penibaetic System includes the highest point in the peninsula, the 3,478 m high

in the

; other ranges and features are: * Serranía de Ronda *

Sierra de las Nieves Sierra de las Nieves is a mountain range of the Penibaetic System in Málaga Province, Andalusia, Spain with its highest point being La Torrecilla (1,919 m). Sierra de las Nieves is also the name of an administrative area, the '' comarca''. T ...

, includes the Sierra de las Nieves National Park * Sierra Blanca * Cordillera Antequerana * Sierra de Tejeda * Sierra de Almijara * Sierra de Alhama *

* Sierra de Lújar * Sierra de la Contraviesa * Sierra de Cogollos, is included in the Sierra de Huétor and la Alfaguara Natural Park, and includes part of the

Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park The Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Parque natural del Cabo de Gata-Níjar'') is a Natural park (Spain), natural park located in Almería (province), Almería, Spain. It is the largest protected coastal area in Andal ...

* Sierra de Gádor *

Sierra de Baza Sierra de Baza is a mountain range near the city of Baza in the Granada province in Spain. It is named after the town of Baza and its highest point is the 2,269 m high Calar de Santa Bárbara. It is located between the Sierra Nevada The Si ...

, includes the Sierra de Baza Natural Park * Sierra de los Filabres * Sierra de Alhamilla *

Sierra Espuña The Sierra Espuña is a mountain range in the Region of Murcia, Spain. It is part of the Penibaetic System. The Sierra Espuña Regional Park protects 17,804 ha of the mountain range in the municipalities of Alhama de Murcia, Totana and Mula, Spai ...

* Sierra Cabrera * Sierra de las Estancias *The Surco Intrabético comprises a series of valleys and depressions separating the Penibaetic from the Subbaetic System

Subbaetic System

The

Subbaetic System The Subbaetic or Sub-Baetic System ( or ''Cordillera Subbética'') is one of the three systems of mountain ranges of the Baetic System in the southern Iberian Peninsula. Highest point high Peña de la Cruz in Sierra Arana. Its northern limit i ...

occupies a central position within the Baetic System. Highest point high

Peña de la Cruz Peña, meaning "rocky outcrop" or "rocky summit" in the Spanish language (Aragonese: ''Penya'', Catalan: ''Penya''), may refer to: Mountains *Peña Montañesa, a mountain in the Pre-Pyrenees, Aragon, Spain *Peña de los Enamorados, a mountain nea ...

in Sierra Arana. * Sierra del Aljibe, includes the Alcornocales Natural Park *

Sierra de Grazalema Grazalema is a village located in the northeastern part of the province of Cádiz, in the autonomous community of Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, ...

, includes the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park * Sierra de Gibalbín * Sierras Subbéticas de Córdoba * Sierra Elvira * Sierra de Loja * Sierra de Arana * Sierra de Cogollos * Sierra de la Alfaguara * Sierra de Huétor *

Sierra Sur de Jaén The Sierra Sur de Jaén (Southern Range of Jaén) is a mountain range that is part of the central belt of the Baetic System, Andalusia, Spain. Its name derives from its location in the southwestern part of Jaén Province. The highest summit in ...

overlapping with the Prebaetic System

Prebaetic System

The Prebaetic System is the northernmost feature of the whole Baetic System. Highest point 2,382 m high La Sagra. *

Sierra Mágina The Sierra Mágina is a massif mostly in the province of Jaén (southern Spain), part of the Cordillera Subbética. The highest peak is the Pico Mágina, with an elevation of 2,164 m. Geography The boundaries of the massif are grossly def ...

* Sierra de la Sagra * Sierra de Cazorla * Sierra de Segura * Sierra de Alcaraz * Sierra de Castril * Sierra de la Sagra * Sierra del Taibilla * Sierra de María, overlapping with the Penibaetic System; includes the Sierra de María-Los Vélez Natural Park * Serra Mariola * Montgó Massif * Sierra de Bernia * Penyal d'Ifac

References

External links

Sierra Nevada Natural Park

* ttp://aguas.igme.es/igme/publica/libro20/pdf/lib20/c_guadal_1.pdf Cuenca del Guadalquivir {{Authority control Physiographic provinces Environment of the Mediterranean Mountain ranges of Andalusia Mountain ranges of the Region of Murcia Mountain ranges of Castilla–La Mancha Mountain ranges of the Valencian Community Cordilleras