The Catalan Central Depression () is a natural depression between the

Pre-Pyrenees The Pre-Pyrenees are the foothills of the Pyrenees. Description As a mountainous system the Pre-Pyrenees are part of the Pyrenees. They run parallel to the main mountain range in a west to east direction. On the French side the Pyrenees's slope ...

and the

Catalan Pre-Coastal Range The Catalan Pre-Coastal Range () is a system of mountain ranges running parallel to the Mediterranean Sea coast in Catalonia. It is part of the Catalan Mediterranean System. Its main axis runs between the Catalan Transversal Range and the Ser ...

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 ...

. It widens towards the west, linking with the Ebro Depression, , of which it could be considered an eastern extension. The Catalan Central Depression is about 180 km long with an average width of 50 km.

Description

The Catalan Central Depression consists of a succession of high

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

s between 800 and 1,000 metres in altitude that gradually lose height westwards until the Ebro Depression. There are

eroded Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is disti ...

river basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, th ...

s limiting these heights wherever the ground is made up of

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

or marlstone. The Pla de Bages and the

Conca de Barberà Conca de Barberà () is a comarca (county) in the region of Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. Its total area is , and its capital is Montblanc. At its creation in 1936, it contained 23 municipalities, but in 1990, several of these were amal ...

are examples of these higher regions. The limits of the Central Depression are different whether considered from the point of view of their origin or their actual relief. Some mountain ranges outside of the depression, like

Montserrat Montserrat ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, wit ...

and Sant Llorenç del Munt, are formed by the same geologic materials that make up the Central Depression, even though geographically they are situated in the Pre-Coastal Range. These materials were piled up over the more ancient rocks of the Catalan Mediterranean System.Patronat de la Muntanya de Montserrat - Història i orígens
/ref> The Central Depression formed in the

Tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...

, when a great gulf, that later became a sea, had its boundaries in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

and the Catalan-Balearic Massif.M. Miró & M. Domingo, ''Medi natural: relleu'' Barcelona, 1986. Ed. Els Llibres de la Frontera. Marine

sedimentation Sedimentation is the deposition of sediments. It takes place when particles in suspension settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to th ...

formed clay, and other limestone materials, like bluish marl where the sedimentation had been part of a quiet and slow process, as well as conglomerate in the areas of the mouths of ancient rivers coming down from the Pyrenees and the former Catalan-Balearic Massif. Evaporation produced sodium and potassium salts, as well as

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...

in certain areas.

Mountain ranges

Some minor mountain ranges are scattered within the Central Depression without a regular pattern. The main ones are: * Serrat Gran de Postius * Serrat de la Minyona * Serrat de la Rodoreda * Serra de Castelltallat * Serra de Pinós * Serra de Brufaganya * Serra de Palomes * Serra de Rubió * Serra d'Almenara * Serra de Sant Miquel * Punta d'Ossós * Muntanya de Sant Mamet * Mont-Roig * Serra Carbonera * Serra d'Oliana * Serra del Tallat * Serra de Vilobí *

Montmeneu Montmeneu () or Punta de Montmaneu is a mountain in Catalonia, Spain. It is located within the La Granja d'Escarp and Seròs municipal limits, Segrià. Geography Montmeneu is an isolated hill of the Catalan Central Depression. Since it is surrou ...

* Serra de Matalescabres * Serra de la Fatarella * Serra dels Pesells

References

External links

Depressió Central

Apunts sobre la Geologia de la ConcaHistòria geològica de Catalunya

Banyeres del Penedès - Geologia
{{coord, 41, 50, 00, N, 1, 11, 00, E, type:mountain_region:ES-CT, display=title Valleys of Catalonia

Description

Mountain ranges

See also

References

External links