Pico Espigüete (2450 m) is a mountain in the Montaña Palentina, the mountainous far northern part of the province of
Palencia
Palencia () is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Palencia.
Located in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in the northern half o ...
in
Castile and León
Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain.
It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of the ...
, Spain. Despite not being the highest peak in the area, it is its most emblematic summit, alongside nearby Curavacas. It is located in the municipality of
Velilla del Río Carrión
Velilla del Río Carrión is a municipality located in the province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2018 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 1,299 inhabitants.
Here is the Velilla Power Plant, a coal-fire ...
.
Location
It is located north of the hamlet of Cardaño de Abajo and south-west of Cardaño de Arriba, in the municipality of
Velilla del Río Carrión
Velilla del Río Carrión is a municipality located in the province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2018 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 1,299 inhabitants.
Here is the Velilla Power Plant, a coal-fire ...
Guardo
Guardo is a municipality in the province of Palencia, in the autonomous community of Castile-Leon, Spain.
The town is located at 42° 47' 00" north, 4° 50' 00" west on the banks of the Carrión River. It is the second most populated municipality ...
and 126 km from the provincial capital,
Palencia
Palencia () is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Palencia.
Located in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in the northern half o ...
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
mass, visible from a distance due to its isolation from any other peak. The south face has smooth reliefs while the north face has vertical walls. Due to its composition, it suffers variations in its appearance depending on the season and lighting, being covered with snow most of the winter.
On 27 June 2000, the declaration of the Fuentes Carrionas y Fuente Cobre-Montaña Palentina Natural Park was published in the ''
Boletín Oficial del Estado
The ''Boletín Oficial del Estado'' (''BOE''; " en, Official State Gazette, label=none", from 1661 to 1936 known as the ''Gaceta de Madrid'', " en, Madrid Gazette, label=none") is the official gazette of the Spain, Kingdom of Spain and may be p ...
'' —revised on 28 May 2010— to which Espigüete belongs. It is one of the highest peaks of the natural park (2450 m), characterized by peaks such as Curavacas (2528) and by the valley bottoms, with a difference in altitude that can reach over 1000 meters.
Geomorphology
Its limits are established by morpho-structural features: to the north, the
thrust fault
A thrust fault is a break in the Earth's crust, across which older rocks are pushed above younger rocks.
Thrust geometry and nomenclature
Reverse faults
A thrust fault is a type of reverse fault that has a dip of 45 degrees or less.
If ...
that directs the waters of the Arroyo Mazobres; to the east, the synclinorium complex that sinks its roots in the Arroyo de las Lomas; to the west, it is drawn against the metamorphic slopes of ''Caladillos'' and ''Carrascal''; and to the south, its margin is formed by the prolonged slate and sandstone spines of the ''Cervera Formation''. Despite its appearance, the Espigüete has numerous hollows in its interior, where there are huge
canyon
A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...
cave
A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
It is a transition area in which taxa typical of central and northern Europe are mixed with others characteristic of the Mediterranean world. The climatic conditions make it lack vegetation, developing only some
lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.sempervivum'' that only occurs in this peak, discovered in 1935 by the eminent botanist Paul Leon Giuseppi, and named in his honor ''Sempervivum Giuseppii''.
History
The geologist and naturalist Casiano de Prado is recorded as the first to climb it, in 1854, and so did
Aymar de Saint-Saud Aymar is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:
Surname:
*Luciana Aymar (born 1977), Argentine field hockey midfielder
*Marcel Aymar, Franco-Ontarian musician, composer, writer and actor
*Robert Aymar, Director Gener ...