He Galician massif , Also known as Galaico-Leonés Massif, is the northwestern fragment of the Hesperian Massif.
It is a mass of Spanish mountains very old that limit, by its eastern zone, with the Cantabrian Mountain range until the point of being confused with the same one. And on the other hand, with the Montes de León.
It is located in Galicia and also occupies a large part of León. Its highest point is Peña Trevinca with 2.127 m of altitude. Another important peak is Cabeza de Manzaneda with 1,778 m of height.
It forms part of the Paleozoic zócalo that was devastated in the secondary period and that during the tertiary era was fractured in blocks due to the alpine orogeny. This movement lifted him and tipped west.
In this massif can be distinguished three types of areas. The first is where the highest altitudes of the massif are reached, such as the Sierra de Segundera.
The second is the Galician Dorsal Cordillera, which culminates with the Pic de Cabeza de Manzaneda. And the last is the area of the coastal mountains, which are of lower altitude and are separated by the Tuy-Verín-Vigo pit.
Litology and modeling
It is composed of Paleozoic rocks, siliceous as in the Sierra Morena, and in its structure of fractured relief predominate granite and gneiss towards the west.
The Germanic relief of the east is characterized by the alternation of rocks of different hardness (primarily slates and quartzites). On the other hand, while the whole is approaching the sea, the massif exhibits a set of stepped horst that are decreasing in height.
The modeling of glaciers in the highest areas, forms of granite erosion, not very high summits, estuaries or river valleys invaded by sea water, and rivers Which have formed valleys of a very rugged relief.
geology
Geomorphologically, the massif is an extension of the northwest of the Central Plateau, the internal Iberian plateau and has great affinity with the geology of the Portuguese region.
In this line, it is composed of Paleozoic materials (granite) with metamorphic rocks such as gneiss, slate and schist in the center and west, which were subject to alpine folding.
The relief of the system, with an average height of 500 meters is relatively smooth in comparison with other Iberian scales. However, it is a very complex massif, which does not have a defined structural alignment due to the strong fluvial erosion that has fragmented the terrain.
Usually the system includes mountains that are rounded in shape, often topped by small rocky outcrops, as well as horsts, buckets and faults, aligned approximately in a North-South direction.
Weather
The climate of the massif corresponds to the pure oceanic climate and transitional oceanic climate. This climate affects the Atlantic climate of the Provinces of Pontevedra and A Coruña where rainfall is regular and abundant.
There is a high humidity of more than 80% and it rains about 150 days of the year. Temperatures range between 11 and 15 degrees Celsius (the highest) and 8 and 12 degrees Celsius the lowest temperatures, dropping to 6 degrees in winter.
It rarely snows but hails frequently. In the areas of the territory located more than 1000 meters we can talk about a mountain climate with oceanic influence. In these areas the temperature can reach 0 degrees which causes the rains to be in the form of snow.
Vegetation
The vegetation of the massif coincides with that of the Euro-Siberian floral region consisting of deciduous forests (broadleaf forests), meadows and landa.
Since rainfall is abundant in Galicia, undisturbed areas of the massif have soft soil reliefs and are covered by dense deciduous forest vegetation dominated by Quercus petraea and Quercus robur.
The vegetation is quite uniform throughout the massif and there is a great vegetal biodiversity in these mountains. In the meadows we find pastures and an abundant herbaceous vegetation.
In turn, many of the plant species found on the site have been used in traditional Galician medicine. The most characteristic trees are beech and oak although we can also find trees of yew, holly, chestnut, hazel, linden and ash. Recently eucalyptus and pine have been introduced to make economic use of them.
The Serra dos Ancares was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2006. In the massif, the forests alternate with thickets and extensive natural meadows.
With respect to traditional folklore, the legend says that the forests of the Galician system are inhabited by a great variety of elves, fairies, ghosts, the Holy Companion, the Nubeiro and the witches.
Range of mountains
Three longitudinal physiographic sections can be found from southeast to northwest, for example:
The ranges of the southwest whose highest elevations are in this sector, including Peña Trevinca. These ranges reach the provinces of Leon and Zamora, hence the alternative name Gacios-Leonés Macizo, and show scars of the glacial period, which are manifested in the Serra do Eixe, also known as Serra da Segundera.
The rivers Tera, Cabreira and Bibei cross the glacial valleys and the lake San Martin de Castañeda.
The Cordillera Dorsal Gallega; With 1,778 m of height Head of Manzaneda, its elevation higher. A tectonic basin that includes the Massif Central of Ourensan.
Coastal ranges such as Serra da Barbanza are generally of a much lower height and are separated from the Cordillera Dorsal.
Hydrography
The rivers flow into the ocean or into the Cantabrian Sea, being rivers that belong to the Atlantic slope. They are very flowing rivers thanks to the abundant rainfall and are not very long being born in the mountains adjoining the coast.
They have a powerful abrasive force that is somehow cushioned by the abundant vegetation. Due to the powerful erosion capacity of these rivers, reservoirs with electric use have been built whose most important rivers of the massif are the Tambre, Ula and Miño.
References
- Revolvy, LLC. (2016). Galician Massif. 27-1-2017, by Revolvy Website: revolvy.com.
- Velilla, J. (2009). Galician-Leonese Massif. 27-1-2017, from Geopress Website: catedu.es.
- Torrente, I. (2014). Galician Massif. 27-1-2017, from Entre Cumbres Website: entrecumbres.com.
- Payne, S. (2015). Galician Massif. 27-1-2017, from theinfolist.com Website: theinfolist.com.
- Sussle. (2016). Galician Massif. 27-1-2017, from sussle.org Website: sussle.org.