Yellow leaves #3

Yellow leaves raining... more

by Guido Montanes Castillo

Title

Yellow leaves #3

Artist

Guido Montanes Castillo

Medium

Photograph

Description

Yellow leaves raining
National parks in automn
The Sierra de Huetor and The Alfaguara Natural Park (Spanish: Parque Natural de la Sierra de Hu�tor y la Alfaguara) is a natural park in Andalusia, Spain. It is located near Granada city and was established in 1989
The area of the park includes mountain ranges of moderate altitude such as the Sierra de Hu�tor, Sierra de la Alfaguara, Sierra de Cogollos, Sierra de Diezma, Sierra de Beas, Sierra de la Yedra as well as the southern end of the Sierra de Arana.[2] The highest point within the park zone is the Pe��n del Majalijar in the Sierra de Cogollos, at 1,889 metres (6,198 ft). Nearby Pe��n de la Cruz is higher, at 2,027 metres (6,650 ft) but lies outside the park limits further north in the Sierra de Arana.[3] Other peaks in the park zone are Pe�on de la Mata at 1,669 metres (5,476 ft) and Pe�on Grande at 1,713 metres (5,620 ft).[4] The mountains have dramatic geological features including cliffs, caves, narrow ravines and springs.[5] They are the source of the Darro River and Fardes River. The Fardes is abundant in trout and is popular with sport fishers.[6]
Human activity[edit source | editbeta]

The park is a few kilometers northeast of Grenada, and city residents often visit on the weekends.[5] It is accessible via the A-92, which unfortunately cuts the park in half, connecting Granada to Guadix.[3] It contains the Arboretum La Alfaguara, formerly a tree nursery that supplied mainly coniferous plants for the reforestation of the entire Sierra de Hu�tor. The arboretum is now an educational tourist attraction.
The park is just east of the town of Alf�car. It contains the villages of V�znar, Hu�tor Santill�n and Beas de Granada, with a total human population of about 10,000.[5][7] The neoclassical Palacio de El Cuzco in V�znar has been declared a National Monument.[6] There is a visitor's information center at Puerto de Lobo, near V�znar. The center has walks and a picnic area, and a fenced in area with birds, stags and mountain goats. Las Mimbres has a recovery centre for endangered animals. There are campsites in Alf�car and Hu�tor-Santill�n. From V�znar and Hu�tor-Santill�n there are magnificent views of the Sierra Nevada National Park to the east and south.[5] The terrain is accessible to walkers through forest tracks, open hillsides, and open woodland with clearings and glades.[4]


Rosa pimpinellifolia habitat, Sierra de la Alfaguara
Flora[edit source | editbeta]

Originally the mountains were covered in maple and oak forests.[1] These trees was largely cleared for agriculture and charcoal production, causing erosion. In an effort to stabilize the land in the last century the mountain slopes were planted with Aleppo, Laricio and Austrian pines, now the dominant types of tree. Less common evergreens include maritime pines, Atlas cedars and Spanish firs. The north of the park has deciduous woodlands with native holm oak as well as gall oaks and maples. The higher-altitude oak woods harbor shrubs beneath the trees that include Spanish barberry, hedgehog broom various species of dog roses. There are many smaller species of flowering plants.[5]
Fauna[edit source | editbeta]

The blue lysandra bellargus ssp alfacariensis butterfly is endemic to the region, first discovered in the Sierra de Hu�tor. In 2002 the park was designated a Special Protection Area for birds. There are tits, robins and chaffinches in the woodlands, warblers and rock buntings in the higher rocky areas. Birds of prey include Golden Eagles and Booted Eagles, Buzzards, Northern Goshawks and Eurasian Sparrowhawks, Little Owls and Tawny Owls.[5]

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December 4th, 2012