The Central System, Spanish and , 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 the

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 ...

. The 2,592 m high Pico Almanzor is its highest summit. The Central System is located just north of the 40th parallel and its ranges divide the

drainage 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, ...

of the

Tagus The Tagus ( ; ; ) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales between Cuenca and Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Name T ...

from the basin of the

Douro The Douro (, , , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish Soria Province, province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern par ...

Description

The Sistema Central is a primary feature of 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 ...

, the inner Iberian plateau, splitting the meseta into two parts. The Sistema Central runs in an ENE - WSW direction roughly along the southern border of the Spanish autonomous community of

Castile and León Castile and León is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwestern Spain. Castile and León is the largest autonomous community in Spain by area, covering 94,222 km2. It is, however, sparsely populated, with a pop ...

and

Extremadura Extremadura ( ; ; ; ; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is a landlocked autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, Spain, Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central- ...

continuing into the Guarda and Castelo Branco districts in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. Unlike the neighboring

Sistema Ibérico The Iberian System is one of the major systems of mountain ranges in Spain. It consists of a vast and complex area of mostly relatively high and rugged mountain chains and massifs located in the central region of the Iberian Peninsula, but ...

, the Sistema Central range is a quite homogeneous system. It consists of several ranges that formed 25 million years ago as part 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 major mountain ranges are the Sierra de Guadarrama, which runs approximately along the border of the

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

and Castile and León autonomous communities, the

Sierra de Gredos The Sierra de Gredos is a mountain range in central Spain that spans the provinces of Ávila, Spain, Ávila, Salamanca, Spain, Salamanca, Cáceres, Spain, Cáceres, Madrid, and Toledo, Spain, Toledo. It is part of the much larger Sistema Central o ...

north of the border between Castile and León and Castile-La Mancha stretching into

and containing the range's highest mountain, Pico Almanzor, at 2,592 m, as well as the

Serra da Estrela Serra da Estrela (, ) is the highest mountain range in Continental Portugal. Together with the Serra da Lousã it is the westernmost constituent range of the Sistema Central and also one of the highest in the system. It includes mainland Portuga ...

, containing the highest point in continental

, A Torre, 1,993 m. Other notably large ranges are Sierra de Gata and

Sierra de Ayllón Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" or "mountain chain" 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 * Sie ...

. The Central System links with the

at its eastern end through the Sierra de Pela, the

Altos de Barahona Altos may refer to: *Altos (Mygdonia), a town of ancient Greece *Altos (Paraguay) *Altos, Brazil, a municipality in Piauí **Associação Atlética de Altos, a football team in the municipality of Altos *Altos Computer Systems, an early microcompute ...

and Sierra Ministra, the latter already fully part of the Iberian System.Introducción al estudio del espacio geográfico soriano
/ref> "Sistema Central" is a widely known academic geographical term. Local inhabitants, however, generally refer to the Sistema Central by the names of its smaller constituent ranges.

Mountain ranges

The main ranges of the Sistema Central from west to east followed by their highest points are: * Serra da Lousã, Trevim, 1,205 m. * Serra do Moradal *

, Torre, 1,993 m. * Sierra de Gata,

Jálama The Jálama is a mountain in western Spain. Etymology In the local language of the northwestern Province of Cáceres, the mountain is known as ''Xálima''. Both names probably come from Paleohispanic languages, Paleohispanic languages. The J� ...

, 1,492 m. * Sierra de la Canchera, Pico Tiendas, 1,590 m * Sierra de Francia, Pico de la Hastiala, 1,735 m. * Sierra de Béjar, Canchal de la Ceja, 2,430 m. *

, Pico Almanzor, 2,592 m. * Sierra de la Horcajada, Risco de la Umbrela, 1,562 m. * Sierra de Villafranca, Cerro Moros, 2,059 m. * Sierra de Piedra Aguda, Piedra Aguda, 1,817 m. * La Serrota, Cerro del Santo, 2,294 m. * Sierra de Hoyocasero, Navasolana, 1,708 m. * Sierra de la Paramera, Pico Zapatero, 2,160 m. *

Sierra de Ávila The Sierra de Ávila is a mountain range in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. Its highest point is Cerro de Gorría, at 1708 metres. See also * Sistema Central The Central System, Spanish language, Spanish and , is one of the main syst ...

Cerro de Gorría Cerro de Gorría is a 1.708 metres high mountain in Spain. Geography The mountain is located in Ávila Province, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It's the highest peak of the Sierra de Ávila, and is ...

, 1,708 m. * Sierra de Ojos Albos, Cruz de Hierro, 1,657 m. * Sierra de Malagón, Cueva Valiente, 1,903 m. * Sierra de San Vicente, Cruces, 1,373 m. * Sierra de Guadarrama, Peñalara, 2,428 m. ** La Mujer Muerta, La Pinareja, 2,197 m. ** Siete Picos, Siete Picos, 2,138 m. ** La Maliciosa, Maliciosa, 2,227 m. ** Cuerda Larga, Cabeza de Hierro Mayor, 2,383 m. ** Sierra de la Morcuera, La Najarra, 2,122 m. ** Sierra de Canencia, Mondalindo, 1,831 m. ** Sierra de la Cabrera, Cancho Largo, 1,564 m. * Sierra de Somosierra, Colgadizos, 1,834 m. *

, Pico del Lobo, 2,274 m. ** Sierra de la Puebla, La Tornera, 1,866 m. ** Sierra del Ocejón, Ocejón, 2,049 m. * Sierra de Alto Rey, Alto Rey, 1,858 m. * Sierra de Pela, Sima de Somolinos, 1,548 m.

Main ranges and features

File:Foto3 SGiao Small.jpg, View of the

, containing the highest point in continental

File:Circo y cima de Peñalara1.JPG,

Alpine lake An alpine lake is a high-altitude lake in a mountainous area, usually near or above the tree line, with extended periods of ice#On lakes, ice cover. These lakes are commonly glacial lakes formed from glacial activity (either current or in the pas ...

at Peñalara, Sierra de Guadarrama File:Sierra de Gata Nevada.JPG, A view of the Sierra de Gata peaks in the background over a mountain village File:Cerro del Padrastro.jpg, Cerro del Padrastro hill close to Atienza, in the transition zone between the Sistema Central and the

References

*Wes Gibbons & Teresa Moreno, ''The geology of Spain''. Geological Society of London, 2003

External links

Physical geography and geology of Spain

Virtual Cadastral

{{Authority control Central Central Central Cordilleras