Montserrat () is a multi-peaked mountain range near

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 ...

, in Catalonia, Spain. 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 ...

. The main peaks are Sant Jeroni (1,236 m), Montgrós (1,120 m) and Les Agulles (903 m). It is the site of the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

Santa Maria de Montserrat Santa Maria de Montserrat () is an abbey of the Order of Saint Benedict located on the mountain of Montserrat in Monistrol de Montserrat, Catalonia, Spain. It is notable for enshrining the image of the Virgin of Montserrat. The monastery was f ...

, which hosts the

Virgin of Montserrat Our Lady of Montserrat or the Virgin of Montserrat () is a Marian title associated with a statue of the Madonna and Child venerated at the Santa Maria de Montserrat monastery on Montserrat mountain in Catalonia, Spain. She is the patroness sai ...

sanctuary. "Montserrat" literally means "

serrated Serration is a saw-like appearance or a row of sharp or tooth-like projections. A serrated cutting edge has many small points of contact with the material being cut. By having less contact area than a smooth blade or other edge, the applied pr ...

(like the common handsaw) mountain" in

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #13 ...

. It describes its peculiar aspect with a multitude of

rock formation A rock formation is an isolated, scenic, or spectacular surface rock (geology), rock outcrop. Rock formations are usually the result of weathering and erosion sculpting the existing rock. The term ''rock Geological formation, formation ...

s that are visible from a great distance. The mountain is composed of strikingly pink conglomerate, a form of

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock formed by the cementation (geology), cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or de ...

. Montserrat was designated as a National Park in 1987. The Monastery of Montserrat which houses the virgin that gives its name to the monastery is also on the mountain, although it is also known as ''La Moreneta'' ("the little tan/dark one" in

Hiking and climbing

* The highest summit of Montserrat is called ''Sant Jeroni'' (Saint Jerome) and stands at above sea-level. It is accessible by hiking trails which connect from the top entrance to the

Sant Joan funicular The Sant Joan Funicular (; ) is a funicular railway at Montserrat, near Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. The line connects the monastery, and the upper terminus of the Montserrat Rack Railway, with sacred sites, walking trails and viewpoints higher ...

, the monastery, or the base of the mountain. Montserrat is part of the

GR footpath The GR footpaths are a network of long-distance walking trails in Europe, mostly in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain. They go by the following names: , , , , – generally meaning "long trail" or more literally "great route". T ...

172. The Cavall Bernat is an important rock feature popular with climbers. * The well-known

via ferrata A via ferrata (Italian language, Italian for "iron path", plural ''vie ferrate'' or in English ''via ferratas'') is a protected climbing route found in the Alps and certain other Alpine locations. The protection includes steel fixtures such as ...

''Canal de las Damas'' (

difficulty level Game balance is a branch of game design with the intention of improving gameplay and user experience by balancing difficulty and fairness. Game balance consists of adjusting rewards, challenges, and/or elements of a game to create the intended pla ...

D) leads from

Collbató Collbató () is a municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'' of the Baix Llobregat in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the southern slopes of Montserrat (mountain), Montserrat. The area has been inhabited ...

through a canal. Montserrat des del Puig Lluent

Geology

Montserrat is formed of conglomerate that was originally deposited in a fan delta at the margin of the

Ebro Basin The Ebro (Spanish and Basque ; , , ) is a river of the north and northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain. It rises in Cantabria and flows , almost entirely in an east-southeast direction. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a del ...

, part of the

foreland basin A foreland basin is a structural basin that develops adjacent and parallel to a mountain belt. Foreland basins form because the immense mass created by crustal thickening associated with the evolution of a mountain belt causes the lithospher ...

to 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. ...

, during the middle

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

. The conglomerate was derived from the uplifting

Catalan Coastal Range The Catalan Coastal Range (, ) is a system of mountain ranges running parallel to the Mediterranean Sea coast in Catalonia, Spain. It is part of the Catalan Mediterranean System. Its main axis runs between the Foix River and the Roses Gulf a ...

s to the southeast of the basin and the clast type is dominated by

Triassic The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...

sedimentary rocks Sedimentary rocks are types of rock formed by the cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or deposited at Earth's surface. Sedim ...

. The fan had an original size of between 100 and 150 square kilometres. The resistance of the Montserrat conglomerate to erosion compared to the rest of the fill of the Ebro Basin explains its current mountainous nature. The dominant clast

lithology The lithology of a rock unit is a description of its physical characteristics visible at outcrop, in hand or core samples, or with low magnification microscopy. Physical characteristics include colour, texture, grain size, and composition. Lit ...

in the conglomerate is

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

and the sequence is cemented by

calcite Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...

. The presence of so much carbonate in the rock has led to the formation of typical

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

landforms, such as cave systems and karst towers.

Namesakes

In 1493, Christopher Columbus named the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

island of

Montserrat Montserrat ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, wit ...

''Santa Maria de Montserrate'', after the ''Virgin of Montserrat''.The Complete Guide to National Symbols and Emblems: Volume 2
page 724 Again, in 1606, the Spanish expedition of Luis Vaéz de Torres charted Mount Ernest island in the

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes ( Kalaw Lagaw Ya#Phonology 2, �zen̪ad̪ kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, ...

as ''Santa Maria de Montserrate'', due to its relatively high peak. In

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

, the

Monserrate Monserrate (named after Catalan language, Catalan homonym mountain ''Montserrat (mountain), Montserrat'') is a mountain over high that overlooks the city center of Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia. It rises to above the sea level, where th ...

mountain (3,152 m high) has a

funicular A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep grade (slope), slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to ...

and

aerial lift An aerial lift, also known as a cable car or ropeway, is a means of cable transport in which ''cabins'', ''cars'', ''Gondola lift, gondolas'', or Chairlift, open chairs are hauled above the ground by means of one or more Wire rope, cables. Aeria ...

similar to those at Montserrat.

References

External links

*
LARSA Montserrat
Montserrat General Information
Gallery of oblique aerial photos of Montserrat
by Doc Searls
Getting to Montserrat from Barcelona cityDay Trip to Montserrat from Barcelona
{{Authority control Mountains of Catalonia Shrines to the Virgin Mary Rock formations of Catalonia Christian hermitages in Spain Mountains associated with Christian monasticism