Veleta (from the Arab word "Balata", meaning cliff) or Pico del Veleta is the third highest peak of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

and the second highest of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

. Its height is given variously as , and . The mountain can be seen from the city 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 ...

. Veleta's northern slopes are home to the

Sierra Nevada Ski Station The Sierra Nevada Ski Station is a ski resort in the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada in the province of province of Granada, Granada in southeastern Spain. The ski area is on the northwestern slopes of Veleta (Sierra Nevada), Veleta, the thi ...

. The access road that takes one to approximately 10 metres below the summit is the highest paved road in Europe across the mountains from Granada to the western

Alpujarras The Alpujarra (, ) is a natural and historical region in Andalusia, Spain, on the south slopes of the Sierra Nevada and the adjacent valley. The average elevation is above sea level. It extends over two provinces, Granada and Almería; ...

. This road was built before the creation of the Sierra Nevada National Park in 1999. It has since been closed to general traffic beyond Hoya de la Mora, just above the ski station. However, the road is still used by ski station employees, national park rangers, observatory staff, cyclists and walkers, and by a microbus service which takes hikers up to Posiciones del Veleta, a viewpoint 3,100 metres above sea level. In summer it is a relatively easy walk up to the summit from there. The Corral de la Veleta or Corral del Veleta glacier, at 37° N the southernmost

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

in Europe, disappeared in 1913.Veleta or Pico de Veleta - Iberianature
/ref> The

IRAM 30m telescope The IRAM 30m telescope is a radio telescope, located in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, Spain. It is operated by the Institute for Radio Astronomy in the Millimetre Range (IRAM) for observing astronomical objects in the millimetre range of the ...

is located on the slopes of Pico Veleta, at an elevation of 2920 m.

References

External links

Profile on climbbybike.comEl Corral del Veleta
Sierra Nevada (Spain) Baetic three-thousanders Penibaetic System Mountains of Andalusia {{Spain-geo-stub

See also

References

External links