Ports de Tortosa-Beseit (), also known as Ports de Beseit, or simply as Els Ports or Lo Port by locals, is a

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) ...

mountain massif located at the north-eastern end of the

Sistema Ibérico The Iberian System is one of the major systems of mountain ranges in Spain. It consists of a vast and complex area of mostly relatively high and rugged mountain chains and massifs located in the central region of the Iberian Peninsula, but ...

, a complex system of mountain ranges and massifs in the centre 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 ...

. Its highest point is

Mont Caro Mont Caro () or Caro is the highest mountain of the Ports de Tortosa-Beseit, Catalonia, Spain. Geography It has an elevation of 1,441 metres above sea level.. There are two large Antenna (radio), antennas and a Virgin Mary shrine on top of the s ...

, 1,441 m. Rivers such as the Matarranya and the Cenia have their source in these mountains.

Description

At the 1350 m high

Tossal dels Tres Reis Tossal dels Tres Reis () or Tossal del Rei ('Peak of the King') is a mountain of the Ports de Tortosa-Beseit massif, Spain. It has an elevation of 1,350 metres above sea level. This mountain is one of thEmblematic Summits of Catalonia Descripti ...

(Peak of the Three Kings), where the borders of the ancient Kingdoms of

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

and

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

meet, there is a

cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

marking the meeting point of the ancient three kingdoms of the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

. It is mostly a

massif, with many steep cliffs, jagged peaks, deep valleys, shafts and caves. The area is mostly uninhabited except for small villages. These mountains were one of the last

redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a Fortification, fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on Earthworks (engineering), earthworks, although some are constructed of ston ...

s of the

Spanish Maquis The Maquis (; ; also spelled maqui) were Spanish guerrillas who waged irregular warfare against the Francoist dictatorship within Spain following the Republican defeat in the Spanish Civil War until the early 1960s, carrying out sabotage, rob ...

in the 1940s and 50s.

Ecology

One of the largest colonies of

griffon vulture The Eurasian griffon vulture (''Gyps fulvus'') is a large Old World vulture in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. It is also known as the griffon vulture, although this term is sometimes used for the genus as a whole. It is not to be confuse ...

s in Europe, as well as

Spanish Ibex The Iberian ibex (''Capra pyrenaica''), also known as the Spanish ibex, Spanish wild goat and Iberian wild goat, is a species of ibex endemic to the Iberian Peninsula. Four subspecies have been described; two are now extinct. The Portuguese ibex ...

, Roe Deer,

Wild Boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

European badger The European badger (''Meles meles''), also known as the Eurasian badger, is a badger species in the family Mustelidae native to Europe and West Asia and parts of Central Asia. It is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List, as it has a w ...

common genet The common genet (''Genetta genetta'') is a small viverrid indigenous to Africa that was introduced to southwestern Europe. It is widely distributed north of the Sahara, in savanna zones south of the Sahara to southern Africa and along the coas ...

grey wagtail The grey wagtail (''Motacilla cinerea'') is a member of the wagtail family, Motacillidae, measuring around 18–19 cm overall length. The species looks somewhat similar to the yellow wagtail (disambiguation), yellow wagtail but has the yello ...

s, among others, have their habitat in these lonely mountains. Among the aquatic animals there are

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

in some of the rivers and amphibians such as the Marbled newt in many of the ponds of the range. The vegetation of the Ports is rich and varied. Besides the Mediterranean species, there are also species belonging to

Alpine flora Alpine flora may refer to: * Alpine tundra, a community of plants that live at high altitude * Alpine plant Alpine plants are plants that grow in an alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. There are many different pl ...

and colder temperate regions at high altitudes and in protected valleys.

Mountain ranges

The Ports Massif comprises several mountain ranges, like the Muntanyes de Benifassà, Serra de les Falconeres, Serra del Àguila, Serra de Rastell, Los Curullons, Moles de Raudorar, Serra de la Fortalesa, Serra de Caro, Serra de la Puca, Serra de Rafalgari, Serra de Paüls, Serra de les Deveres, Serra de l'Escaleta, Serra d'Encanader, Serra del Pedregal, Serra del Coc and

Serra de l'Espina Serra de l'Espina is a limestone mountain chain located at the north-eastern end of the Sistema Ibérico, Iberian System. It connects the Ports de Tortosa-Beseit mountain massif with the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range. Geography The Serra de l'Espina ...

.Ports de Beseit
/ref> The latter, located at its northern end, connects with 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 ...

Peaks

Some of the main peaks of the massif are:

(1441 m), the highest point, Castell de l'Airosa, Tossal d'en Cervera, Mola del Boix, Mola del Boixet, el Castellar, la Portella del Pinell, Curullons, el Negrell, Punta de l'Àliga, Farrubio, Penyaflor, Mola de Catí,

, Tossa Blanca, Roques de Benet,

Penyagalera Penyagalera () is a rocky mountain in the northern side of the Ports de Tortosa-Beseit, Aragon, Spain. Punta de Penyagalera, the highest summit, has an altitude of 1,034.4 metres above sea level. Penyagalera, the name of the mountain (''penya'' " ...

, Mola de Lli, Tossal de Tall Nou, Tossal de l'Espada, la Ballestera, Mola de la Paridera, Muntanyola, La Tossa, Mola Castellona, Tossal de Joan Gran, Tossal de la Forca, Tossal d'en Grillo, Muntanya de Santa Bàrbara, L'Espina and La Moleta d'Alfara.

Protected areas

There are two natural parks in the massif; there is no protected area on the Aragonese side: *Parc Natural dels Ports on the Catalan side *Parc Natural de la Tinença de Benifassà on the Valencian side.

Features

File:Mont Caro (enhanced).jpg,

, the Ports' highest point File:El port fageda (19).JPG,

Beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

forest in the National Park area Image:Masdebarberans.jpg,

Mas de Barberans Mas de Barberans () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Montsià in Catalonia, Spain. It is part of the Taula del Sénia free association of municipalities. It has a population of . Local crafts This town is located at the feet of the eastern ...

, a town located at the feet of the eastern edge of the Ports File:Els Ports.jpg, A mountain river at ''La Vall'' in the Mas de Barberans administrative area File:L'Ulldemó.jpg, Ulldemó River close to

on the western edge of the Ports File:Capra hispanica pyrenaica at Ports de Tortosa Beseit.jpg,

at Ports de Tortosa Beseit File:Belemnites Ports Tortosa2.jpg,

Belemnites Belemnites may refer to: *Belemnitida, an extinct order of cephalopods commonly known as "belemnites" *Belemnites (genus), ''Belemnites'' (genus), a belemnite genus from the Early Jurassic {{disambiguation ...

fossils from ''Les Foies'', in the

close to

Alfara de Carles Alfara de Carles () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Stat ...

File:Ulldecona.1.jpg, Ulldecona Dam in the

File:Roques de Benet.jpg, Roques de Benet near

Arnes, Terra Alta Arnes () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of la Terra Alta in Catalonia, Spain. Main sights The most noteworthy building of this town is the Town Hall, an example of Catalan Renaissance art. It was built in 1584 by Joan Vilabona of Queretes ...

References

External links

Turisme a les Terres de l'EbreParc Natural dels PortsLo PortWalking trails through the natural park of Tinença de Benifassa
{{Authority control Mountain ranges of the Sistema Ibérico Mountain ranges of Aragon Mountain ranges of the Valencian Community La Franja Mountain ranges of Catalonia Baix Maestrat