Serra del Turmell, also known as Serra del Mont Turmell, ( es, Sierra del Turmell) is an over long mountain range in the

Baix Maestrat Baix Maestrat (; es, Bajo Maestrazgo ) is a coastal ''comarca'' located in the north of the province of Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain. The capital of the ''comarca'' is Vinaròs. Municipalities The ''comarca'' is composed of 18 muni ...

comarca,

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous comm ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. These mountains and their neighboring ranges are a desolate place with little human habitation. Their summits are frequently covered in

snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet ...

in the winter. The Cervol River has its sources in this range. There was much activity of the

Spanish Maquis The Maquis were Spanish guerrillas who waged an irregular warfare against the Francoist Spain, Francoist dictatorship within Spain following the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republican defeat in the Spanish Civil War until the early ...

in this range and the neighboring areas after the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

and well into the 1960s.

Geography

The highest point in the Serra del Turmell range is 1,276 m high

Tossal Gros Tossal Gros de Miramar, or simply Tossal Gros, is a mountain of the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range, Catalonia, Spain. It has an elevation of 866.6 metres above sea level.. This mountain is the highest summit of the Serra de Miramar; it is located bet ...

, also known as ''El Turmell'', meaning 'the

ankle The ankle, or the talocrural region, or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular ...

'. Another important peak is the ''Mola de Penyablanca''. There is a

cellular repeater A cellular repeater (also known as cell phone signal booster or cell phone signal amplifier) is a type of bi-directional amplifier used to improve cell phone reception. A cellular repeater system commonly consists of a donor antenna that receives ...

and other antennas atop the highest peak. There is also a shrine or small chapel dedicated to

Saint Agatha Agatha of Sicily () is a Christian saint. Her feast is on 5 February. Agatha was born in Catania, part of the Roman Province of Sicily, and was martyred . She is one of several virgin martyrs who are commemorated by name in the Canon of the ...

in the high slopes of the range. This mountain chain rises east of Rossell town and its western end merges with the

Serra de Vallivana Serra de Vallivana (, es, Sierra de Vallivana) or Muntanyes de Vallivana is an over long mountain range straddling the Alt Maestrat and Baix Maestrat comarcas, Valencian Community, Spain. Geography The highest point of the range is the 1,275 ...

range in the area of the Port de Querol mountain pass in the

N-232 The N-232 is a highway in Spain. It broadly follows the Rio Ebro from Logroño to the coast. It starts south east of Logroño at the Autovía LO-20 and runs parallel to the Autopista AP-68. The road passes Calahorra before it junctions with the ...

road. The easiest route to reach the range is from Xert,

Vallibona Vallibona () is a small town and municipality located in the Ports comarca, province of Castelló, part of the autonomous community of Valencia, Spain. According to the 2009 census, it has a total population of 90 inhabitants. It is located in ...

or Morella.

Ecology

The northern slopes of the Serra del Turmell are covered with

Mediterranean forest Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub is a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The biome is generally characterized by dry summers and rainy winters, although in some areas rainfall may be uniform. Summers are typically hot in ...

of holm oak and

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

, while the southern slopes are almost denuded of vegetation with the grey

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

rocks exposed among scattered clumps of shrub. There are large prey birds such as the

griffon vulture The Eurasian griffon vulture (''Gyps fulvus'') is a large Old World vulture in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. It may also be known as the Griffon vulture, though it may be used for the genus as a whole. It is not to be confused with ...

, as well as wild animals such as the

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

roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

and

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 suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

. The ranges of this sparsely populated mountain area have the most important forested zone of the region. Thus the area of this range together with the neighboring

Tinença de Benifassà Tinença de Benifassà () is a historical '' comarca'' of the Valencian Community, Spain. It is nowadays part of the Baix Maestrat, one of the present-day Comarques of the Valencian Community, even though commercial and human relationships hav ...

and

was declared a

Site of Community Importance A Site of Community Importance (SCI) is defined in the European Commission Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) as a site which, in the biogeographical region or regions to which it belongs, contributes significantly to the maintenance or restoration at ...

by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

under the name Tinença de Benifassà, Turmell i Vallivana.European Parliament - SCI and ZEPA ‘Tinença de Benifassà, Turmell i Vallivana’
/ref>

References

External links

*
A Dry Stream Bed Instantly Becomes a Raging River, Overtaking a Bridge in the Process
* ttp://vamosderuta.blogspot.com/2010/05/els-ports-vallivana-vereda-del-turmell.html Els Ports : Vallivana – Vereda del Turmell - Vallivanabr>Wikiloc - Santa Agueda - Vallibona - TurmellVallibona Patrimoni Natural
{{Mountain ranges of the Iberian System Turmell Turmell Baix Maestrat

Geography

Ecology

See also

References

External links