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Picos de Europa National Park

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Picos de Europa National Park

Picos de Europa National Park
IUCN Category II (National Park)

The Picos de Europa (view from Liébana).
Location Picos de Europa,Cantabrian Mountains, Spain
Nearest city Santander, Cantabria
Coordinates 43°11′51″N 4°51′06″W / 43.1975°N 4.85167°W / 43.1975; -4.85167Coordinates: 43°11′51″N 4°51′06″W / 43.1975°N 4.85167°W / 43.1975; -4.85167
Area 646.60 km²
Established 1918
Governing body Ministry of Environment of Spain
Lago Ercina, one of the Lakes of Covadonga.
Naranjo de Bulnes

The Picos de Europa National Park is a National Park in the Picos de Europa mountain range, in northern Spain. It is shared by the autonomous communities of Asturias, Cantabria and Castile and León.

History

It was the first of the National Parks of Spain along with Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park in the Pyrenees.

The western part of today's national park, centered on the Lakes of Covadonga, was created 22 July 1918. The Parque Nacional de la Montaña de Covadonga, as it then was called, had an area of 169.25 km². On May 30, 1995 the park was extended to include its current total area of 646.60 km².

On July 9, 2003 UNESCO approved Biosphere Reserve status for the National Park. Picos de Europa is one of several biosphere reserves in the Cantabrian Mountains which as at 2009 are being integrated into a single super-reserve to be known as "Gran Cantábrica". [1]

Geography

The total area of the park is 646.60 km² and is shared by Castilla y León, Asturias, and Cantabria. The highest point of the park is in Torre de Cerredo peak, 2,648 m AMSL and the lowest point is 75 m AMSL in the Deva River, that is, a vertical drop of 2,573 m.

The geological features of the park show the effects of glacial erosion on the limestone massifs that form the Cantabrian Mountains.

Flora and fauna

Several types of woods can be found in the area, including beeches and Cantabrian Holm Oaks.

The human population is about 1300. There are many protected animal species, like the Capercaillie, the Lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus), the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), the Cantabrian brown bear or the Iberian Wolf (Canis lupus signatus). The most representative animal of the Picos de Europa is the Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica) or sarrio, or its more specific relative, the Cantabrian chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica parva) or rebeco, of which there are many sculptures around the park, as well as the Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica).

See also

References

  1. ↑ Biosphere Reserve Information

External links

Categories:
IUCN Category II
Green Spain
National parks of Spain
Biosphere reserves of Spain
Geography of Asturias
Geography of Cantabria
Picos de Europa
Protected areas established in 1918
Visitor attractions in Asturias

History

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