The Sierra de la Culebra, or Serra da Coroa (in Portuguese), is a mountain range in Castile and León, northwest

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") , ...

, and northeastern

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

. It lies 7 km south of

Puebla de Sanabria Puebla de Sanabria (; ) is a small town located in the north-western part of the province of Zamora in Spain, between the rivers Tera and Castro. It is the economic and political centre of the ''comarca'' of Sanabria. History Well known as ...

in the comarcas of Aliste, Sanabria and

La Carballeda La Carballeda () is a '' comarca'' located in the northwest of the province of Zamora, Castilla y León, western Spain. Its area is 1,216.54 km². Despite of the strong identity of its inhabitants, this historical region has not been able ...

(

Zamora Province Zamora () is a province of western Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered by the provinces of Ourense, León, Valladolid, and Salamanca, and by Portugal. The present-day province of Zamora was ...

), as well as Vinhais and Bragança municipalities in the District of Bragança. Its highest point is high Peña Mira, located near Flechas, within

Figueruela de Arriba Figueruela de Arriba is a municipality located in the province of Zamora, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2009 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 423 inhabitants. Peña Mira, the highest point of the Sierra de la Culebra ...

municipal term; other important peaks are Miño Cuevo and La Pedrizona . The Sierra de la Culebra is a 95 km long regular mountain chain of medium height, forming a natural border with the Portuguese region of Tras os Montes on its western end. Its slopes are wooded, occasionally ravaged by forest fires. The summits of the range are often covered with

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 and there are odd-looking rocky

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tec ...

outcrops on them. Among the rivers in Spain and Portugal having their source in Sierra de la Culebra, the

Castro River Castro is a Romance language word that originally derived from Latin ''castrum'', a pre-Roman military camp or fortification (cf: Greek: ''kastron''; Proto-Celtic:''*Kassrik;'' br, kaer, *kastro). The English-language equivalent is ''chester''. I ...

, Tera, Tuella, Sabor and Maçãs (Manzanas), deserve mention. These mountains are famous as one of the few remaining strongholds of the Iberian wolf.

Subranges

The Sierra de la Culebra is a southeastern prolongation of

Sierra Segundera Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin ''wikt:serra#Latin, serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Nieves, a ...

, at the southern fringes of the

Macizo Galaico-Leonés The Galician Massif ( es, Macizo Galaico, also known as ''Macizo Galaico-Leonés'') is a system of mountain ranges in the northwestern corner of the Iberian Peninsula. It is located in Galicia with its southeastern end reaching into the provinces o ...

. The western prolongations of Serra de Montezinho or ''Maciço de Montesinho'',

Sierra de la Gamoneda Sierra (Spanish for " mountain range" and " saw", from Latin ''serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain rang ...

( pt, Serra da Gamoneda) and Sierra del Marabón ( pt, Serra de Marabón) are part of the Sierra de la Culebra mountainous system. Other subranges are Sierra de las Cavernas, Sierra de los Cantadores and

Sierra de las Carbas Sierra (Spanish for " mountain range" and " saw", from Latin ''serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain rang ...

, located on the Spanish side. One important feature is the

Rock of the Three Kingdoms The Rock of the Three Kingdoms ( pt, Penedo dos Três Reinos) is a mountain of 1025 m of elevation in the Serra de Marabón ( es, Sierra del Marabón), part of the mountainous system of Sierra de la Culebra ( pt, Serra da Coroa). Description and l ...

dividing three ancient Iberian kingdoms in the Serra de Marabón subrange.

Natural reserves

On the Portuguese side the area of the Sierra de la Culebra range is included in the Montesinho Natural Park. The Reserva de Caza de la Sierra de la Culebra, is a national hunting forest reserve on the Spanish side. Controversially, the wolves are protected in the reserve in order that they may be shot by sportsmen on payment of a fee of several thousand Euros. This process is defended on the grounds that it helps pay for the upkeep of the reserve and thus the protection of the species as a whole. The number of wolves authorised for hunting each year in Spain is strictly controlled, the auction being carried out in

Villardeciervos Villardeciervos is a municipality located in the province of Zamora, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 515 inhabitants (cervatos/as). See also *La Carballeda La Carballeda ( ...

, but many more are shot illegally.Iberia Nature
/ref> In the Sierra de la Culebra reserve, wolves may occasionally be observed when attracted to a bait-station, known locally as a ''Muladar'', where remains of dead horses and donkeys are put out for them. On the Sierra de la Culebra reserve there is a healthy population of the wolves' main prey species -

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 ...

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...

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 presence of the carcasses put out for the wolves also attracts spectacular raptors 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 ...

. There are also small colonies of '' Vipera latastei'' and ''

Coronella austriaca The smooth snake (''Coronella austriaca'')Street D (1979). ''The Reptiles of Northern and Central Europe''. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. 268 pp. . is a species of non- venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is found in northern and ...

'', which perhaps gave the mountains their name.

Gallery

References

External links

Conocer Zamora

{{in lang, es

Galician Massif Mountain ranges of Portugal Mountain ranges of Castile and León