Montseny () is a mountain range west of the coastal hills north of

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. It is part of 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 ...

Features

The Montseny massif is located within a triangle formed by the AP-7, C-17 and C-25 roads. It has the highest mountains in the area south of 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 dominates the plains south of

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

. To the south lies the plateau of La Calma. In between is the Valley of the

Tordera River The Tordera (; ) is a river of Catalonia (Spain). It flows through the town of Tordera. Course The river is long. Its source is in the Montseny Massif, and it discharges in the Mediterranean Sea. The river's average discharge is . Its main t ...

. The highest peaks are Turó de l'Home (1,712 m), Les Agudes (1,703 m), El Matagalls (1,697 m) and Puig Drau (1,344 m). There are a large number of

megalithic A megalith is a large Rock (geology), stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging ...

structures in the massif, such as

menhir A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the European middle Br ...

s, indicating that the area was inhabited since very ancient times. The

Santa Fe Reservoir The Santa Fe Reservoir () is a reservoir on the Riera de Gualba, a tributary of the Tordera River. It is located within the Fogars de Montclús municipal term, Catalonia, Spain. The area is a popular destination for excursions and picnics and ...

is located in the area of the range; construction work began in 1920 and was completed in 1935.

Ecology

The Montseny is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

designated the massif a

biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

in 1978. The

Generalitat of Catalonia The Generalitat de Catalunya (; ; ), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia is Self-governance, self-governed as an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is made up of the Parli ...

regional government designated it a natural park in 1987, the Montseny Natural Park ''(Parc Natural del Montseny)''. The Park is home to a wide variety of fauna from Mediterranean to alpine. The

critically endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...

Montseny brook newt The Montseny brook newt (; ''Calotriton arnoldi'') is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae. It is endemic to the Montseny Massif (Catalan Pre-Coastal Range) in northeast Spain. Before it was formally described in 2005, it was mix ...

is only known from the area of this massif.

References

External links

*
Tourisme-montseny.com
Biosphere reserves of Spain Natural parks of Catalonia Protected areas established in 1978 Mountains of Catalonia {{catalonia-geo-stub