Peñalara is the highest mountain peak in the mountain range of Guadarrama, a subsection of

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 ...

's larger

Sistema Central The Central System, Spanish language, Spanish and , is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in the Iberian Peninsula. The 2,592 m high Pico Almanzor is its highest summit. The Central System is located just north of the 40th parallel north, ...

mountain chain which lies at the center and divides the

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. Straddling the provinces of

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and

Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is located in the Meseta central, Inner Pl ...

, Peñalara reaches a height of 2,428 metres above sea level. Consequently, it is one of the most emblematic and important peaks of the Guadarramas. The eastern section of the mountain lies in the municipality of

Rascafría Rascafría is a municipality of the Community of Madrid The Community of Madrid (; ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities and 50 provinces of Spain, provinces of Spain. It is located at the heart of the Iberian Peninsula and Meseta ...

in the province of Madrid, belonging to the ''Valle of Lozoya'', and its western section is located in the ''Valle of Valsaín'' in the province of Segovia. The peak's summit is a designated natural park known as the '' Parque Natural de Peñalara'', which features several small

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

s and some steep

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. Due to the similarity, the term '' scarp'' may mistakenly be incorrectly used inte ...

s. The outline of Peñalara is rounded, displaying few underhangs. The hillsides of this mountain are covered with different types of vegetation, depending on the elevation. Largely undisturbed

oak tree An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the Fagaceae, beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northe ...

groves are found at an elevation of 1,000 to 1,300 metres. From 1,100 metres to 2,000 metres, the slopes are dominated by wild

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

forests. From 2,000 metres up to the summit, the vegetation consists of more sparsely distributed, low-lying bushes particular to high elevations. The animal habitation of the mountain is made up of small mammals, a large variety of insects and various bird species such as eagles and vultures.

References

* Peñalara. From the Spanish-language Wikipedia. Retrieved May 6, 2006. * Parque Natural de Peñalara. From the Spanish-language Wikipedia. Retrieved May 6, 2006.

External links

*
Parque Natural de Peñalara
*

*

Mountains of Castile and León Sierra de Guadarrama Highest points of Spanish provinces {{Segovia-geo-stub

See also

References

External links