Los Alcornocales Natural Park (in Spanish, Parque natural de Los Alcornocales) is a natural park located in the south of

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") , ...

, in the autonomous community of

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 ...

; it is shared between the

Province of Cádiz Cádiz is a province of southern Spain, in the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is the southernmost part of mainland Spain, as well as the southernmost part of continental Europe. It is bordered by the Spanish provin ...

and

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most po ...

. The natural park occupies a territory spanning seventeen municipalities with a total population of about 380,000. ''Los Alcornocales'' means "the cork oak groves". Nearly all of the uninhabited land in the park is covered by Mediterranean native forest. While some of the land has been cleared for cattle ranches, much of the human activity in the park is devoted to exploitation of the forest's resources:

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

wild game, collecting wild mushrooms, and foraging for good specimens of tree heath. The tree heath (''

Erica arborea ''Erica arborea'', the tree heath or tree heather, is a species of flowering plant (angiosperms) in the heather family Ericaceae, native to the Mediterranean Basin and Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa. It is also cultivated as an o ...

'', called "brezos" in Spanish) is a small evergreen shrub, rarely more than two or three meters high; it is the source of the reddish briar-root wood used in making tobacco pipes, and its wood is excellent raw material for making

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ...

. Above all, however, the park's forests are exploited for the production of

cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

. The

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 core ...

(''Quercus suber'') is a tree with a spongy layer of material lying between the outer surface of its bark and the underlying living layer called the ''

phloem Phloem (, ) is the living tissue in vascular plants that transports the soluble organic compounds made during photosynthesis and known as ''photosynthates'', in particular the sugar sucrose, to the rest of the plant. This transport process is c ...

'' (which, in turn, encloses the non-living woody stem.) Cork is generated by a specialized layer of tissue called ''

cork cambium Cork cambium (pl. cambia or cambiums) is a tissue found in many vascular plants as a part of the epidermis. It is one of the many layers of bark, between the cork and primary phloem. The cork cambium is a lateral meristem and is responsible for ...

''. Properly done, harvesting cork from a given tree can be undertaken every ten to twelve years without damaging the tree; the cork cambium simply regenerates it. Cork has many commercial uses, including wine-bottle stoppers, bulletin boards, coasters, insulation, sealing material for jar lids, flooring, gaskets for engines, fishing bobbers, handles for fishing rods and tennis rackets, etc. Los Alcornocales Natural Park has the biggest and best preserved relicts of Laurisilva in

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

. Los Llanos del Juncal, a small part of the Natural Park, has a distinctive

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud ...

and it also forms a mixed

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 ...

, that dates back to somewhere between the

Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

and the Quaternary Period.

Climate

Given the geographic position of Los Alcornocales, the dominant climate in the zone is, logically,

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

, but a series of factors contribute to its uniqueness, having an Oceanic Mediterranean climate in the southwest area of the natural park, which receives much more rain than a typical Spanish Mediterranean climate. Its close proximity to the

Atlantic Ocean 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 ...

and the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

helps keep the temperature relatively mild all year long. The average rainfall usually reaches over 800 L/m², with certain zones receiving more than 1,400 L/m² thanks to the ocean front. In the mountain ranges to the south, there are great fogs known as the ''barbas del Levante'' (the beards of the east wind). These fogs provide the humidity to form precipitation during the long dry seasons that usually characterize Mediterranean climates. All of these factors contribute to create a unique humid microclimate that grows a vegetation that resembles more to the

Macaronesian Macaronesia (Portuguese: ''Macaronésia,'' Spanish: ''Macaronesia'') is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the North Atlantic, off the coasts of Africa and Europe. Each archipelago is made up of a number of Atlantic oceanic island ...

humid subtropical vegetation instead of the typical Mediterranean vegetation. The strong East wind is known as Viento de Levante, and is associated with high temperatures. The wind from the West, which frequently brings rain, is known as Viento de Poniente. These winds make this area one of the best places to construct

wind farm A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turb ...

s in all of Spain.

Flora

The park is characterized by the most extensive forest of cork in Spain and one of the largest in the world. In contrast to the mountains of cork in other latitudes where the tree density is low, in this zone the trees form an authentic forest with a rich variety of shrub and herbaceous vegetation intimately connected. This assures a natural regeneration of the forest, a good mix of ages, and a high level of floral and animal

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') ...

. Forests and smaller wooded areas within the park are comprised mainly by

s (''Quercus suber''), Portuguese oaks (''Quercus faginea''), Pyrenean oaks (''Quercus pyrenaica''), olive trees (''Olea europaea''),

alder Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...

s (''Alnus glutinosa''), holly trees (''Ilex aquifolium''),

bay laurel ''Laurus nobilis'' is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glabrous (smooth) leaves. It is in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region and is used as bay leaf for seasoning in cookin ...

s (''Laurus nobilis''),

rhododendrons ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

(''Rhododendron ponticum''),

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta ('' sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and ...

es, and

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons an ...

s (white, ''Ciconia ciconia''; black, ''Ciconia nigra'') *

Kites A kite is a tethered heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create lift and drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have a bridle and tail to guide the face ...

(black-winged, ''Elanus caeruleus''; red, ''Milvus milvus''; black, ''Milvus migrans'') * Buzzards (''Buteo buteo'') *

Spanish imperial eagle The Spanish imperial eagle (''Aquila adalberti''), also known as the Spanish eagle or Adalbert's eagle, is a species of eagle native to the Iberian Peninsula. The binomial commemorates Prince Adalbert of Bavaria. Due to its distinct “epaule ...

s (''Aquila adalberti'') *

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

s (Eurasian black, ''Aegypius monachus''; griffon, ''Gyps fulvus''; Egyptian, ''Neophron percnopterus'') * Egyptian mongooses (''Herpestes ichneumon'') * Common genets (''Genetta genetta'') * European otters (''Lutra lutra'') *

European polecat The European polecat (''Mustela putorius''), also known as the common polecat, black polecat, or forest polecat, is a species of mustelid native to western Eurasia and North Africa. It is of a generally dark brown colour, with a pale underbelly ...

s (''Mustela putorius'') * Wildcats (''Felis silvestris'') *

Weasels Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slend ...

(''Mustela nivalis'') *

Iberian lynx The Iberian lynx (''Lynx pardinus'') is a wild cat species endemic to the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. In the 20th century, the Iberian lynx population had declined because of overhun ...

es (''Lynx pardina'') *

Roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

(''Capreolus capreolus'') *

Fallow deer ''Dama'' is a genus of deer in the subfamily Cervinae, commonly referred to as fallow deer. Name The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word ''dāma'' or ''damma'', used for roe deer, gazelles, and antelopes ...

(''Dama dama'')

History

The cork oak groves of Los Alcornocales are situated in a strategic place. They sit astride two important axes, one an east-west axis, the other north-south. The land here has allegiances to both the

and the

; similarly, it forms the throat of a bridge between Europe and Africa, a bridge broken only by the narrow

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 ...

. Its geographic position is the circumstance, as much as its climate, topography, or suitability for agriculture, that has dictated its patrimony. The area has been populated for tens of thousands of years. This is attested by the presence of archaeological remnants of settlements by

Neanderthal Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an Extinction, extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ag ...

s dating back more than thirty thousand years, as well as stone implements, engravings, and cave paintings from both the

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός '' palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

and

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

ages. Of the greatest interest to visitors, however, are the Bronze Age cave dwellings that dot the area. Of more than fifty caves discovered so far, there are three that have special artistic value: the Cueva del Tajo de las Figuras (Cave of the Figures on the Precipice), which has been compared to the

Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel (; la, Sacellum Sixtinum; it, Cappella Sistina ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), the chapel takes its nam ...

among examples of cave art; the Cave of the High Laja, that houses pictures of the earliest-known boats to ply the Mediterranean; and the Cave of Bacinete, with more than a hundred pictographic representations in a magnificent state of conservation. Later in history, a succession of civilizations and cultures, one superimposed on the next, has dominated this area, all of whom have contributed to its ethnological character. Each has left its marks on the landscape; there are megalíthic monuments, Iberian, Phoenician, and Roman ruins, Arab strongholds, etc. Many of the towns that today comprise the park reached their highest state of civilization during the Muslim

Nasrid dynasty The Nasrid dynasty ( ar, بنو نصر ''banū Naṣr'' or ''banū al-Aḥmar''; Spanish: ''Nazarí'') was the last Muslim dynasty in the Iberian Peninsula, ruling the Emirate of Granada from 1230 until 1492. Its members claimed to be of Arab ...

, when this area was on the western fringe of the

Kingdom of Granada ) , common_languages = Official language:Classical ArabicOther languages: Andalusi Arabic, Mozarabic, Berber, Ladino , capital = Granada , religion = Majority religion:Sunni IslamMinority religions:Roman ...

. Today, in this area, many examples of the architecture introduced during the period of Muslim occupation survive; among them are the unique

White Towns of Andalusia The White Towns of Andalusia, or Pueblos Blancos, are a series of whitewashed towns and large villages in the northern part of the provinces of Cádiz and Málaga in southern Spain, mostly within the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park. Hi ...

Jimena de la Frontera Jimena de la Frontera is a historic town and municipality located in the province of Cádiz (province), Cádiz, Spain. According to estimates made by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain), National Statistics Institute of Spain (INE), th ...

Castellar de la Frontera Castellar de la Frontera is a town and municipality located in the province of Cádiz, in Andalusia, Spain. It is a medieval town within a castle. Description Castellar de la Frontera is a village within a castle surrounded by the walls of a w ...

San Roque, Cádiz San Roque is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, which in turn is part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is also part of the of Campo de Gibraltar. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, San Roq ...

, and Medina Sidonia are magnificent examples.

Caves

The Cueva del Tajo de las Figuras, located near the town of

Benalup-Casas Viejas Casas Viejas is a city located in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to the 2005 census, the city has a population of 6,754 inhabitants. Casas Viejas is located in the '' Ruta del Toro''. Main sights * Cueva del Tajo de las Figuras *Igles ...

, belongs to the group of paleolithic and neolithic sites in southern

that have examples of rock art that the Spanish call " art sureño" (southern art). In 1913, Juan Cabré and Eduardo Hernández-Pacheco began the first systematic studies of "art sureño" at this cave. The paintings are mostly representations of birds and odd four-footed man-like figures dating from neolithic times. In 1924 the ''Cueva del Tajo de las Figuras'' was declared an Artistic Architectonic Monument by the Spanish state. For several decades, in order that visitors might better able to discern the paintings on the wall, tour guides have repeatedly sprayed water on them. This practice has resulted in the deposition of layers of lime on the paintings. Beginning in 2005, an effort to restore them was undertaken.

The ecological disaster at La Janda

Near the ''Cueva del Tajo de las Figuras'' was the ancient ''Laguna de la Janda'', a haven where millions of birds, both resident and migratory species, found a suitable habitat for feeding and reproduction. Unfortunately, during the middle part of the twentieth century, this important ecological niche was destroyed. To support local rice-growing, water from the lagoon and its associated fresh-water wetlands was diverted, and the area dried up almost completely. In the process, the last reproductive Spanish population of the

Eurasian crane The common crane (''Grus grus''), also known as the Eurasian crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes. A medium-sized species, it is the only crane commonly found in Europe besides the demoiselle crane (''Grus virgo'') and the Siberia ...

(''Grus grus'') was lost as well.

Towns and cities within the park

All or part of seventeen municipalities of the

lie within the Natural Park of Los Alcornocales :

Alcalá de los Gazules Alcalá de los Gazules is a city and municipality located in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to the 2006 census, the town has a population of 5,633 inhabitants. Alcalá de los Gazules is situated in the Sierra de Cádiz. Although not o ...

, Algar,

Algeciras Algeciras ( , ) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeci ...

, Arcos de la Frontera,

, Benaocaz,

, El Bosque,

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway bet ...

Los Barrios Los Barrios is a small town and municipality in the south of Spain. It is part of the province of Cádiz, which in turn is part of the Andalusia region. It belongs to the Campo de Gibraltar comarca. The town's name means “the districts” or “ ...

Medina-Sidonia Medina Sidonia is a city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, southern Spain. Considered by some to be the oldest city in Europe, it is used as a military defence location because of its elevation. ...

Prado del Rey Prado del Rey is a city located in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to the 2005 census, the city has a population of 5,968 inhabitants. History Human remains have been found dating back to the Paleolithic but the first mention in anci ...

San José del Valle San José del Valle is a municipality located in the province of Cádiz, southern Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (La ...

, Tarifa and

Ubrique Ubrique is a municipality of Spain located in the province of Cádiz, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. According to the 2005 census, it has a population of 17,362 inhabitants. It is the most important municipality in the Sierra de Cádiz ...

. Likewise, there is one town in Málaga province,

Cortes de la Frontera Cortes de la Frontera is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. The municipality is situated approximately 40 kilometres from Ronda Ronda () is a town in the Spanis ...

, that has land within park boundaries. Many paths connecting these municipalities, nowadays used for

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

References

Bibliography

* Acosta, Pillar: "The schematic cave painting in Spain", Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the University of Salamanca, Salamanca, 1968 * Bergmann, Lothar: "Treatment of images: Applications in the investigation of Rock Art", COMPUTER, Magazine of computer science diffusion, Cadiz, 11/1996 * Breuil, H. and Burkitt, M.C. : "Rock Paintings of Southern Andalusia, a Description of the Neolithic and Copper Age Art Group", Oxford University Press, 1929 * Cabré, J., Hernandez - Pacheco, E.: "Introduction to the Study of Prehistoric Paintings of Southern Spain", Works of the Commission of Paleontological and Prehistoric Investigations, No.3, National Museum of Natural Sciences, Madrid, 1914

External links

Cave of the Edge of the Figures (Benalup - Old Houses)

Los Alcornocales Natural Park
{{Authority control Rock art in Spain Prehistoric art Natural parks of Spain Natural parks of Andalusia Geography of the Province of Cádiz Geography of the Province of Málaga