The Catalan Transversal Range (''Serralada Transversal'') is a system of minor mountain ranges at the eastern end of the

Pre-Pyrenees The Pre-Pyrenees are the foothills of the Pyrenees. Description As a mountainous system the Pre-Pyrenees are part of the Pyrenees. They run parallel to the main mountain range in a west to east direction. On the French side the Pyrenees's slop ...

, between the

Osona Osona () is a comarca situated in Catalonia, Northeast Spain. Its capital is Vic. Its population in 2001 was 129,543. Osona covers roughly the same area as the historic Catalan county of Osona. The name Osona comes from ''Ausetans'', a group of ...

and

Garrotxa Garrotxa () is a comarca (county) in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Its population in 2016 was 55,999, more than half of them in the capital city of Olot. It is roughly equivalent to the historical County of Besalú. Geography Garrotxa borders ...

comarques This is a list of the 42 ''comarques'' (singular ''comarca'', , ) into which Catalonia is divided. A ''comarca'' is a group of municipalities, roughly equivalent to a county in the US or a district or council in the UK. However, in the context ...

. The existence of the Catalan Transversal Range has made communications in the northern areas of Catalonia difficult in the past, especially between Northeastern Catalonia ( Catalan Coastal Depression, with cities like

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capit ...

Figueres Figueres (, ; , es, Figueras, ) is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Alt Empordà, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Teatre-Museu Gala Salvador Dalí, a large museu ...

and

La Jonquera La Jonquera () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of l'Alt Empordà, in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated next to the border with Northern Catalonia, nowadays France, opposite the municipality of Le Perthus. History The area has always been a ...

) and Western Catalonia ( Catalan Mediterranean System; Lleida,

Cervera Cervera () is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Segarra, in the province of Lleida, Autonomous Community of Catalonia, Spain. The title Comte de Cervera is a courtesy title, formerly part of the Crown of Aragon, that has been revived for Leonor, ...

and further west to

Aragón Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sout ...

), a problem that has been partly solved with the development of the

Eix Transversal Eix Transversal ( en, Transversal Arterial Road; lit. ''Transversal Axis''), labelled C-25, is a primary highway in Catalonia, Spain. It crosses the Catalan Transversal Range mountainous region, connecting the northern end of the Catalan Coasta ...

Description

The Catalan Transversal Range is made up of a series of mountains running in a NW / SE axis between the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

, the

Sub-Pyrenees The Sub-Pyrenees ( ca, Subpirineu) are a mountainous region in Catalonia, Spain, forming a section of the southern foothills of the Pyrenees. They are located at the eastern end of the Pre-Pyrenees, west of the Catalan Transversal Range, betwee ...

, the

Catalan Pre-Coastal Range The Catalan Pre-Coastal Range ( ca, Serralada Prelitoral Catalana) 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 Catal ...

and the northern end of the Catalan Coastal Depression. The highest point is at

Puigsacalm Puigsacalm is the highest mountain of the Catalan Transversal Range, Catalonia, Spain. It has an elevation of 1,512 metres above sea level.. See also *Catalan Transversal Range *Mountains of Catalonia This is a list of mountains in Catalonia, Spa ...

, 1.515 m. Its most characteristic feature is a small region of

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates ...

origin near

Olot Olot () is the capital city of the ''comarca'' of Garrotxa, in the Province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. The city is known for its natural landscape, including four volcanoes scattered around the city center. The municipality is part of the Zona ...

, Garrotxa. There are extinct volcanoes like the conical-shaped Santa Margarida and Croscat, as well as

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of a ...

masses that originated in ancient

lava flow Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

s at

Castellfollit de la Roca Castellfollit de la Roca () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Garrotxa, in the Province of Girona, Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designa ...

Main mountain ranges

(1.515 m) * Pla d'Aiats (1.306 m) * El Far (1.111 m) * Finestres (1.027 m) *

Sant Roc Sant Roc (Catalan name; Spanish: ''San Roque'') is a neighbourhood of Badalona, in the metropolitan area of Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain). In 1958 the Badalona city council planned construction on the site, under the name of Barrio del Regadío. I ...

(591 m)

References

External links

From Girona to Sant Feliu de Guíxols
{{coord, 41, 55, N, 2, 33, E, scale:500000_region:ES, display=title Mountain ranges of Catalonia