Desert de les Palmes
Encyclopedia
Desert de les Palmes (deˈzɛɾd de les ˈpaɫmes), also known as Serra del Desert de les Palmes is a 18.8 km long mountain range in the Plana Alta
comarca, Valencian Community
, Spain
. Its highest point is Bartolo (729 m).
The Ermita de La Magdalena 40°02′04"N 0°00′20"W, an important church for Castellonenc people, is located on a hill at the southern end of the range. The Prime Meridian
crosses the Desert de les Palmes roughly in the middle.
The Columbretes Islands
can be seen on clear days in the horizon looking seaward from the Desert de les Palmes heights.
, known in Catalan
as Desert, that was located in the mountain range.
Palmes on the other hand refers to the abundance of Chamaerops humillis palms in the range. Short, stocky, and growing in clumps, Chamaerops humillis is the only palm
endemic to Europe.
, Cabanes
, La Pobla Tornesa, Borriol and Castelló de la Plana. It is located near the Mediterranean coastline, crossed by the highway between Barcelona
and Valencia.
This mountain range has two ridges covered mostly with Maquis shrubland
and low Mediterranean forest
. There were two serious forest fires in 1985 i 1992.
Some of the peaks of the Desert de les Palmes are more jagged than the summits of other mountain ranges in the same system, like Serra d'Irta
or Talaies d'Alcalà
.
The castles of Montornés and Miravet date back to Moorish times and the Ermita de les Santes church was built in 1617. There are two ridges in the range, the Desert de les Palmes and the Serra de les Santes, the latter named after the Ermita de les Santes. The mountain range was declared a Nature Reserve by the Generalitat Valenciana
in 1989 with the name Parc Natural del Desert de les Palmes.
that formed 25 million years ago as part of the Alpine orogeny
.
Both the Desert de les Palmes and the Serra de les Santes are part of an anticline
of paleozoic
materials. Slate
, as well as red triassic
and grey jurassic
and cretaceous
rocks give the exposed areas of this mountain range striking colors.
Plana Alta
Plana Alta is a comarca in the province of Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain.- Municipalities :*Almassora*Benicàssim*Benlloch*Borriol*Cabanes*Castelló de la Plana*Les Coves de Vinromà*Orpesa*La Pobla Tornesa*Sant Joan de Moró*Sarratella...
comarca, Valencian Community
Valencian Community
The Valencian Community is an autonomous community of Spain located in central and south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Valencia...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Its highest point is Bartolo (729 m).
The Ermita de La Magdalena 40°02′04"N 0°00′20"W, an important church for Castellonenc people, is located on a hill at the southern end of the range. The Prime Meridian
Prime Meridian
The Prime Meridian is the meridian at which the longitude is defined to be 0°.The Prime Meridian and its opposite the 180th meridian , which the International Date Line generally follows, form a great circle that divides the Earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.An international...
crosses the Desert de les Palmes roughly in the middle.
The Columbretes Islands
Columbretes Islands
The Columbretes Islands are a group of small uninhabited islets of volcanic origin, in the Mediterranean Sea, 49 km off Oropesa del Mar. Administratively they belong to Castelló de la Plana municipality, Valencian Community, Spain....
can be seen on clear days in the horizon looking seaward from the Desert de les Palmes heights.
Origin of the name
Desert, the name of the range, originated in an ancient eremitical settlement or hermitageHermitage (religious retreat)
Although today's meaning is usually a place where a hermit lives in seclusion from the world, hermitage was more commonly used to mean a settlement where a person or a group of people lived religiously, in seclusion.-Western Christian Tradition:...
, known in Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
as Desert, that was located in the mountain range.
Palmes on the other hand refers to the abundance of Chamaerops humillis palms in the range. Short, stocky, and growing in clumps, Chamaerops humillis is the only palm
Arecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
endemic to Europe.
Location
The Desert de les Palmes stretches in a NE - SW direction in the municipal terms of BenicàssimBenicàssim
Benicàssim is a municipality embracing a beach resort located in the province of Castelló, on the Costa del Azahar in Spain. The mountain range known as Desert de les Palmes rises inland protecting the town from the north wind...
, Cabanes
Cabanes
Cabanes , also known as Cabanes de l'Arc, is a village and municipality located in the comarca of Plana Alta, in the province of Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain....
, La Pobla Tornesa, Borriol and Castelló de la Plana. It is located near the Mediterranean coastline, crossed by the highway between Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
and Valencia.
This mountain range has two ridges covered mostly with Maquis shrubland
Maquis shrubland
thumb|220px|Low Maquis in Corsica.220px|thumb|High macchia in Sardinia.Maquis or macchia is a shrubland biome in the Mediterranean region, typically consisting of densely growing evergreen shrubs such as holm oak, tree heath, strawberry tree, sage, juniper, buckthorn, spurge olive and myrtle...
and low Mediterranean forest
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, defined by the World Wildlife Fund, characterized by dry summers and rainy winters. Summers are typically hot in low-lying inland locations but can be cool near some seas, as near San Francisco, which have a sea of cool waters...
. There were two serious forest fires in 1985 i 1992.
Some of the peaks of the Desert de les Palmes are more jagged than the summits of other mountain ranges in the same system, like Serra d'Irta
Serra d'Irta
Serra d'Irta is a 18.8 km long mountain range in the Baix Maestrat comarca, Valencian Community, Spain. Its highest point is Pic Campanilles .-Location:...
or Talaies d'Alcalà
Talaies d'Alcalà
Talaies d'Alcalà , also known as Serra de les Talaies or simply Les Talaies, is a 21.5 km long mountain range in the Baix Maestrat comarca, Valencian Community, Spain. Its highest point is Talaia Grossa ....
.
The castles of Montornés and Miravet date back to Moorish times and the Ermita de les Santes church was built in 1617. There are two ridges in the range, the Desert de les Palmes and the Serra de les Santes, the latter named after the Ermita de les Santes. The mountain range was declared a Nature Reserve by the Generalitat Valenciana
Generalitat Valenciana
The Generalitat Valenciana is the generic name covering the different self government institutions under which the Spanish autonomous community of Valencia is politically organised....
in 1989 with the name Parc Natural del Desert de les Palmes.
Geology
The Desert de les Palmes is located in the transition area between the Mediterranean System and the Iberian SystemSistema Ibérico
The Sistema Ibérico or Iberian System is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain.It is a vast and complex system of mountain chains and massifs located in the central regions of the Iberian Peninsula, but reaching almost the Mediterranean coast in the Land of Valencia in the east.From...
that formed 25 million years ago as part of the Alpine orogeny
Alpine orogeny
The Alpine orogeny is an orogenic phase in the Late Mesozoic and Tertiary that formed the mountain ranges of the Alpide belt...
.
Both the Desert de les Palmes and the Serra de les Santes are part of an anticline
Anticline
In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is convex up and has its oldest beds at its core. The term is not to be confused with antiform, which is a purely descriptive term for any fold that is convex up. Therefore if age relationships In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is...
of paleozoic
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...
materials. Slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
, as well as red triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
and grey jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
and cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
rocks give the exposed areas of this mountain range striking colors.