From typicallyspanish.com
Sierra Nevada National Park
By m.p.
Sep 12, 2007 - 4:47 PM
Lying within the mountain range from which it takes its name, Andalucía’s second National Park straddles two provinces, extending for 86,208 hectares from the south west of Granada City across to the western part of Almería province, from the snowy high peaks down to the fertile slopes of the Alpujarra.
Part of the Sistema Penibético, the Sierra Nevada includes the highest peaks on the Spanish mainland: Mulhacén, at 3,482 metres, and Veleta, at 3,392 metres. The mountain range is the second highest in Europe after the Alps and includes 15 peaks higher than 3,000 m.
It’s the largest of Spain’s National Parks, and was designated as such in 1999. It also holds the status of a Natural Park, and a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, dating from 1986. The UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Directory describes the relief of the Sierra Nevada mountain range as ‘unique,’ with its centre ‘forming an elongated and depressed arch, constituting a series of rounded slopes and gentle hillsides on southern slopes and show a clear glacial geomorphology with cirques and headwalls on the northern slopes.’
Known as the ‘Sierra del Sol,’ ‘the Mountains of Sun,’ during the Middle Ages, the legacy of centuries of history, going back to the Tartessians, the Romans, the Visigoths and the Moors, can still be seen today, especially in the slopes of the Alpujarras, where the sophisticated irrigation system left by the Moorish occupation collects the meltwaters from the peaks above.
The Alpujarra was indeed the last refuge of the Moors, and their influence is seen in the design of the flat-roofed houses, reminiscent of Berber architecture in North Africa.
The Sierra Nevada National Park is described by Spain’s Environment Ministry as ‘an exceptional refuge for flora and biodiversity’ in Europe and is home to 2,100 recorded species of plant life: more than 70 are endemic to the Park.
116 of the total are under threat, and the European Union’s LIFE programme in place here aims to reduce the risk factor for species which are most under threat by restoring and maintaining their natural habitat.
A management programme is in place to control the causes of their vulnerability, which include the effects of over-farming, deforestation, road infrastructure, the ski resort and tourism.
As far as fauna is concerned, the Park is home to the mountain goat or ibex, beech marten, weasel and fox, amongst other species, with more than 60 bird species including golden eagle and Bonelli’s eagle, peregrine falcons, and griffon vultures.
The Sierra Nevada ski resort, based around the village of Pradollano in the western part of the park, with more than 80 kilometres of ski slopes, is the most southerly ski resort in Europe. It is just 45 minutes’ drive from Granada City, and has hosted numerous national and international championships, including the world ski championships in 1996.