The Croscat () is a

volcano 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 plates ...

in the

comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a " ...

Garrotxa Garrotxa () is a comarca (county) in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Its population in 2016 was 55,999, more than half of them in the capital city of Olot. It is roughly equivalent to the historical County of Besalú. Geography Garrotxa borders ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

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") , ...

. It is both the youngest and highest volcano in the

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, defi ...

, with the last eruption dated back to about 14,000 years

Before Present Before Present (BP) years, or "years before present", is a time scale used mainly in archaeology, geology and other scientific disciplines to specify when events occurred relative to the origin of practical radiocarbon dating in the 1950s. Becaus ...

. The

volcanic cone Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic landforms. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature ...

has a

horseshoe A horseshoe is a fabricated product designed to protect a horse hoof from wear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface (ground side) of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall that is anatomically akin to the human ...

shape, and its northeastern flank was quarried for volcanic gravel until the early 1990s, exposing the internal structure of the cone from top to bottom. The volcano is located in the Garrotxa volcanic field, a Quaternary

volcanic field A volcanic field is an area of Earth's crust that is prone to localized volcanic activity. The type and number of volcanoes required to be called a "field" is not well-defined. Volcanic fields usually consist of clusters of up to 100 volcanoes ...

also known as Olot volcanic field, as part of the

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

of the Zona Volcànica de la Garrotxa Natural Park.

Geology

The cone has a height of and an elliptical base with a

shape, probably caused by the breaching of the western-side of the volcano as a result of the

effusion In physics and chemistry, effusion is the process in which a gas escapes from a container through a hole of diameter considerably smaller than the mean free path of the molecules. Such a hole is often described as a ''pinhole'' and the escape ...

of lava flows during the last eruptive phase of Croscat. A study published in 2011 at the

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research ''Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research'' is a scientific journal that publishes recent research on the fields of volcanology and geothermal activity, as well as the societal and environmental impact of these phenomenon. Abstracting and ...

revealed that the Santa Margarida Volcano and the Croscat were the product of the same eruption event 11,500 years ago, alternating phreatomagmatic activity, between water and

magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natura ...

, and

tic activity. Catalonia-VolcaCroscat1

Human history

Starting from the 1960s, the northeastern flank of the volcano was quarried for

lapilli Lapilli is a size classification of tephra, which is material that falls out of the air during a volcanic eruption or during some meteorite impacts. ''Lapilli'' (singular: ''lapillus'') is Latin for "little stones". By definition lapilli range ...

gravel. The extraction of material from the volcano cone and the degradation of the volcanoes of the Garrotxa Volcanic Field sparked a series of protests in the 1970s to protect the volcanic field, a campaign that came to be known as ''Save the Volcanoes'' ( ca, Salvem els Volcans). The extraction area was also used as an uncontrolled municipal landfill for the city of

Olot Olot () is the capital city of the ''comarca'' of Garrotxa, in the Province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. The city is known for its natural landscape, including four volcanoes scattered around the city center. The municipality is part of the Zona ...

. In 1982 the Zona Volcànica de la Garrotxa Natural Park was created to protect the area but the extraction lasted for another nine years. Further protests were sparked after an agreement was reached between the

concessionaire A concession or concession agreement is a grant of rights, land or property by a government, local authority, corporation, individual or other legal entity. Public services such as water supply may be operated as a concession. In the case of a p ...

of the quarry, ''Minas de Olot, SA'', and the

Generalitat of Catalonia The Generalitat de Catalunya (; oc, label=Aranese, Generalitat de Catalonha; es, Generalidad de Cataluña), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia politically organizes its self-government. It is formed ...

for the further extraction of 2.7 million tons with educational and scientific purposes, with the commitment of restoration of all excavated areas. The successive non-fulfillment of the restoration program resulted in the issue of at least ten disciplinary proceedings in the subsequent years. The mining operations were stopped in 1991, when the

acquired the majority of shares of the mining company. The extraction left a vent high and long covering around 40 degrees. In the 1990s a territorial landscaping project was undertaken to restore the extraction site and the landfill to recover the morphology of the base of the volcano and the pastures surrounding the area. The project, which won an award for landscape design, minimized the landscape impact, prevented erosion and planned public access for educational purposes.

Gallery

File:Catalonia-VolcaCroscat2.jpg, File:Volca del Croscat Garrotxa.jpeg, Volcano-Catalonia-Spain.jpg,

Notes

References

External links