The Intrabaetic Basin ( or ''Depresión Intrabética'') is a discontinuous series of

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

s in the Baetic System of

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

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 ...

Description

The Intrabaetic Basin is a series of intermontane basins that separate the Penibaetic System to its south from the

Subbaetic System The Subbaetic or Sub-Baetic System ( or ''Cordillera Subbética'') is one of the three systems of mountain ranges of the Baetic System in the southern Iberian Peninsula. Highest point high Peña de la Cruz in Sierra Arana. Its northern limit i ...

to the north. These basins run more or less parallel to the

Mediterranean coast The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eu ...

. Together, these valleys constitute a route from western Andalusia and the valley of the

Guadalquivir The Guadalquivir (, also , , ) is the fifth-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula and the second-longest river with its entire length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is the only major navigable river in Spain. Currently it is navigable from Seville ...

to the Spanish Levante, the eastern Mediterranean coastal region of Spain. From west to east, the basins of the Depression of Ronda, the Hoya of Antequera, the Depression of Granada, the Hoya of Guadix, the

Hoya of Baza The Hoya of Baza is a valley in the northern part of the province of Granada, Andalusia, southern Spain, named after the town and former bishopric Baza, Granada. It is one of the series of valleys forming the Surco Intrabético. It formed during ...

, the Hoya of Huéscar, and the

Hoya of Lorca Hoya may refer to: Places *Hoya, Germany, a city in Lower Saxony, Germany *County of Hoya, a former state in present Germany *Hōya, Tokyo, now incorporated within Nishi-tokyo, Tokyo, Japan *Hoya, Hpruso, a place in Hpruso Township, Kayah, Myanmar ...

. The valleys of the Intrabaetic Basin stand in contrast to the adjacent mountain ridges that define their collective border and the rocky spurs—formed of

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) ...

, and yielding a dry, nearly treeless landscape—that separate them from one another in that they are formed of soft materials such as

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension (chemistry), suspension with water. Silt usually ...

s and conglomerates. Soils are deep and suitable for agriculture, but the limiting factor to human activity is the scarcity of water. The Intrabaetic Basin formed at the end

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

and beginning of the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

, as the Baetic ranges were being formed. It is believed that at that time the entire Baetic system was surrounded by water, and the basin formed a single, continuous valley, sometimes referred to as the Baetic Depression. Later, the spurs crossing the basin were raised up, turning it into a series of separate valleys. The valleys of the Intrabaetic Basin are quite heterogeneous, although all are

sedimentary basin Sedimentary basins are region-scale depressions of the Earth's crust where subsidence has occurred and a thick sequence of sediments have accumulated to form a large three-dimensional body of sedimentary rock They form when long-term subsidence ...

s. The Depression of Ronda, the westernmost of the valleys, falls fully within the Cordillera Penibética. The Hoya of Antequera is intimately related to the original Baetic Depression: it was a great

gulf A gulf is a large inlet from an ocean or their seas into a landmass, larger and typically (though not always) with a narrower opening than a bay (geography), bay. The term was used traditionally for large, highly indented navigable bodies of s ...

of the sea that separated the Sierra Morena from the Andalusian ranges. The Depression of Granada is intermediate between the Penibético and Subbético. Finally the Hoyas of Guadix, Baza and Huéscar are more related to the Subbético. The Intrabaetic Basin provides a route for the Autovía A-92 that connects

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Almería, province of the same name. It lies in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia on the Mediterranean S ...

, passing through

Antequera Antequera () is a city and municipality in the Comarca de Antequera, province of Málaga, part of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is known as "the heart of Andalusia" (''el corazón de An ...

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

, and

Guadix Guadix (, ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in southern Spain, in the Granada (province), province of Granada. The city lies at an altitude of 913 metres, in the centre of the Hoya of Guadix, a high plain at the northern footh ...

. Its branch

Autovía A-92N The Autovía A-92N is a highway in 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 Europ ...

passes through Cúllar and Baza to

Puerto Lumbreras Puerto Lumbreras () is a Spanish municipality in the autonomous community of Murcia. It has a population of 15,780 (2020) and an area of 139 km2 . It is located in the southwestern end of Region of Murcia and is adjacent to Andalusia. Hist ...

, where it meets

Autovía A-7 The Autovía A-7 (also called ''Autovia del Mediterráneo'') is a Spanish autovía (toll-free limited-access highway) which starts in La Jonquera, near the French frontier and ends in Algeciras. It was finally finished in late 2015 upon complet ...

, which, in turn continues to

Murcia Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...

and the Spanish Levante.

References

* Julián Alonso:
Geografía túristica: general y de España
', Ed. Centro de Estudios Ramón Areces,

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

2006. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Surco Intrabetico Baetic System Landforms of Andalusia Valleys of Spain

Description

See also

References