Cuevas de San Marcos is a town and municipality in the province of

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

, part of the

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

in southern

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 ...

. The municipality is situated in the northern part of the

Antequera Antequera () is a city and municipality in the Comarca de Antequera, province of Málaga, part of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is known as "the heart of Andalusia" (''el corazón de An ...

region, on the border of the province of Córdoba from the river valley of Genil to the Sierra Malnombre and Camorro de Cuevas Altas. It is also located within the

comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) 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 "march, mark ...

of Nororma. It borders the provinces of

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

and Cordoba to the north, the comarcas of

La Axarquía LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

to the south and Antequera to the west. The town is situated at an altitude of 420 meters above sea level. By road Cuevas de San Marcos is located 88 kilometers from

and 487 km from

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 ...

. It is a farming village, with a predominance of olive growing and oil production of the "Hojiblanca" variety. Its name comes from its patron saint,

Mark the Evangelist Mark the Evangelist (Koine Greek, Koinē Greek: Μᾶρκος, romanized: ''Mârkos''), also known as John Mark (Koine Greek, Koinē Greek language, Greek: Ἰωάννης Μᾶρκος, Romanization of Greek, romanized: ''Iōánnēs Mârkos;'' ...

, and its famous Cave of Belda. Cuevas de San Marcos has a population of approximately 4,000 residents. It covers an area of about 37.50 km². The natives are called ''Cuevachos''.

History

The history of the town of Cuevas de San Marcos traces its beginnings to 1806. Formerly known as Cuevas Altas, its separation from Antequera was what led to his establishment as an independent municipality, receiving the new name as it is known today. At the foot of Sierra Camorro, sits this villa, which has all the progress of life that has taken place throughout history. Before it was known as Ciudad de Belda. It stands at the foot of a mountain, where there is a cave called Belda, which is located on the north side of the town and belonging to mountain range called the "Sierra del Camorro." The mountain range consists of limestone and marls from the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

period at a height of 907 meters. Situated on the summit of this mountain is a

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

site leaving open the possibility in the past the existence of a castle and its forts, which were destroyed by the

Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...

. Within the cave, the existence of at least three lakes and numerous galleries is known of, which shows kilometers of stalactites, formed over decades. In the first lake, remains of an ancient burial site were found and in the other two lakes pottery was found. Both can found in the City Museum or the Provincial Archaeological Museum.

External links

Official website

References

Municipalities in the Province of Málaga {{Andalusia-geo-stub

History

See also

External links

References