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

Baix Maestrat Baix Maestrat (; ) is a coastal Comarques of the Valencian Community, ''comarca'' located in the north of the Provinces of Spain, province of Castellón (province), Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain. The capital of the ''comarca'' is Vinarò ...

comarca,

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

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 ...

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

snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

in the winter. The Cervol River has its sources in this range. There was much activity 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 this range and the neighboring areas after the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

and well into the 1960s.

Geography

The highest point in the Serra del Turmell range is 1,276 m high Tossal Gros, also known as ''El Turmell'', meaning 'the

ankle The ankle, 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 joint. The ...

'. 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 (radio), anten ...

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 Calendar of saints, feast is on 5 February. Agatha was born in Catania, part of the Sicilia (Roman province), Roman Province of Sicily, and was martyred . She is one of several virgin martyrs who are ...

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 (, ) 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 m high Muixacre, located ...

range in the area of the Port de Querol mountain pass in the N-232 road. The easiest route to reach the range is from Xert,

Vallibona Vallibona () is a small town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Ports (comarca), Ports comarca, province of Castelló (province), Castelló, part of the Valencia (autonomous community), autonomous community of Valencia, Spa ...

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 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 ...

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

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) ...

rocks exposed among scattered clumps of

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

. 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 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 ...

, as well as wild animals such as the

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

. 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 have be ...

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 union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

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