The Baetic System or Betic System ( es, Sistema Bético) 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 ari ...

s in

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") , ...

. Located in the southern and eastern

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, def ...

, 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 refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–50 ...

region of Baetica, one of the Imperial

Roman provinces The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') 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 ...

of ancient

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hi ...

Geography

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

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...

to the

Region of Murcia The Region of Murcia (, ; es, Región de 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 ...

, southern Castile-La Mancha and the Land of Valencia. To the north, the Baetic Ranges are separated from the Meseta Central and the

Sierra Morena The Sierra Morena is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain. It stretches for 450 kilometres from east to west across the south of the Iberian Peninsula, forming the southern border of the '' Meseta Central'' plateau and pro ...

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 the Gul ...

. The Iberian System rises north of the eastern part of the

Prebaetic System The Prebaetic System ( es, Sistemas Prebéticos or ''Sistema Prebético'', also often referred to simply as ''Prebético'') is a system of mountain ranges that forms the northeasternmost prolongation of the Baetic System in the southern Iberian P ...

, the northernmost prolongation of the Baetic System. Generally the mountain ranges that are part of this system are aligned in a southwest-northeast direction. The most well-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 primar ...

, where the Mulhacén, the highest mountain in continental Spain and in the

is found. The

Rock of Gibraltar The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabel-al-Tariq) is a monolithic limestone promontory located in the British territory of Gibraltar, near the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, and near the entrance to the Medite ...

is also considered to be part of the Baetic System, but not the

Cabo de Gata Cabo de Gata is a cape located in Níjar, Almería in the south of Spain, one of the biggest capes. It is the driest place in the Iberian Peninsula (150-170 mm average precipitation, being the lowest 52 mm in 1981). However, the area th ...

area further east which includes rocks of

volcanic A volcano is a rupture 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 found where tectonic plat ...

origin.

Geology

The Baetic System as a geological feature belongs to a larger

orogeny Orogeny is a mountain building process. An orogeny is an event that takes place at a convergent plate margin when plate motion compresses the margin. An '' orogenic belt'' or ''orogen'' develops as the compressed plate crumples and is uplifted ...

usually called the Gibraltar Arc, which represents the westernmost edge of the Alpine Orogeny. 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 the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

and the

Serra de Tramuntana The Serra de Tramuntana (, es, Sierra de Tramontana) is a mountain range running southwest–northeast which forms the northern backbone of the Spanish island of Mallorca. It is also the name given to the comarca of the same area. On 27 June 2 ...

in the island of

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...

are 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 ( ar, وجدة; ber, ⵡⵓⵊⴷⴰ, Wujda) is a major Moroccan city in its northeast near the border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of about 558,000 people. It ...

in the east to

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...

in the west, then crosses the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medi ...

and goes east again from

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

and the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

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 woodlands, broadleaf forests, and

conifer Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All ext ...

ous forests, which vary with elevation, soils, and topography. The Baetic System, together with the Rif Mountains of Morocco, which face the Baetic Ranges across the

Alboran Sea The Alboran Sea (from Arabic , ''al-Baḥrān'') is the westernmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea, lying between the Iberian Peninsula and the north of Africa (Spain on the north and Morocco and Algeria on the south). The Strait of Gibraltar, ...

, is one of the

Mediterranean basin In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and wa ...

's ten biodiversity hotspots, 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 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 elo ...

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:

Penibaetic System

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

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

* Sierra de las Nieves * Sierra Blanca *

Cordillera Antequerana A cordillera is an extensive chain and/or network system of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope'). The term is most commonly us ...

Sierra de Tejeda Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range ...

Sierra de Almijara The Sierra de Almijara is a mountain range in the provinces of Granada and Málaga in southern Spain. The rocks are mainly marble, giving a white or gray color to the narrow ridges and deep ravines. The range is mostly protected by the Sierras of ...

Sierra de Alhama Sierra de Alhama is a mountain range of the Penibaetic System in Málaga and Granada provinces, Andalusia, Spain. Its highest point is the 1,500 m high Pico de la Torca. Other notable summits are Hoyo del Toro, 1,353 m, Cerro de Marchamonas, 1, ...

* Sierra de Lújar *

Sierra de la Contraviesa Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...

* Sierra de Cogollos *

Sierra de Gádor Sierra de Gádor of Sierra Gador is a mountain range in southwest of the province of Almería, Spain.Sierra Gador ...

* Sierra de Baza * Sierra de los Filabres *

Sierra de Alhamilla Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...

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. Th ...

* 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 ( es, Sistema Subbético 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 Ara ...

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''). It may refer to: Mountains *Peña Montañesa, a mountain in the Pre-Pyrenees, Aragon, Spain * Peña de los Enamorados, a mountain ...

Sierra Arana The Sierra Arana or Sierra de Arana, also known as Sierra Harana, is a mountain range in the center of the province of Granada, southern Spain. Its highest peak is the Peña de la Cruz, at . Description The Sierra Arana is a mostly karstic rang ...

. *

Sierra del Aljibe Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin ''wikt:serra#Latin, serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Nieves, a ...

, 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, Spain. Situated in the foothills of the Sierra del Pinar mountain range (Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park), Grazalema ...

* 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 overlapping with the Prebaetic System

Prebaetic System

The

is the northernmost feature of the whole Baetic System. Highest point 2,382 m high

La Sagra La Sagra is a Castilian comarca delineated by natural formations but not legally recognized. The comarca includes localities belonging to both the province of Madrid and the province of Toledo. La Sagra covers an area of 1322 km2, and is bordered ...

. *

Sierra Mágina The Sierra Mágina is a massif mostly in the Province of Jaén (Spain), 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 ...

Sierra de la Sagra Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...

* Sierra de Cazorla * Sierra de Segura *

Sierra de Alcaraz The Sierra de Alcaraz is a mountain range of the Cordillera Prebética located in Albacete Province, southeast Spain. Its highest peak is the ''Pico Almenara'' with an elevation of 1796 m. See also *Baetic System The Baetic System or Betic S ...

Sierra de Castril Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...

* Sierra del Taibilla *

Sierra de María Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...

, overlapping with the Penibaetic System * Serra Mariola * Montgó Massif *

Sierra de Bernia Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...

* 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