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The Iberian System [a] is one of the major systems of mountain ranges in Spain. It consists of a vast and complex area of mostly relatively high and rugged mountain chains and massifs located in the central region of the Iberian Peninsula , but reaching almost the Mediterranean coast in the Valencian Community in the east.
The Iberian Peninsula (IPA: / aɪ ˈ b ɪər i ə n / eye-BEER-ee-ən), [a] also known as Iberia, [b] is a peninsula in south-western Europe.Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of Peninsular Spain [c] and Continental Portugal, comprising most of the region, as well as the tiny adjuncts of Andorra, Gibraltar, and, pursuant to the ...
A rift system formed in the Variscan basement from Permian to Late Cretaceous. At the end of the Cretaceous the basin was stretched by 35 km. [7] In Early Neogene times the basin was inverted as a result of the Pyrenean Orogeny, part of the Alpine Chain formation. This inversion resulted in the formation of mountains called the Iberian Range.
The Guadarramas form a natural division between the North and South mesetas of the Iberian Peninsula, part of the so-called Sistema Central.. The mountain bases are located between 900 and 1,200 metres above sea level, and the principal peaks of the range have an average topographic prominence of 1,000 metres.
In the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula are the Baetic Systems, a group of mountain chains and ranges that form a geographic unit. The Baetic mountain systems are divided into two main groups: the Penibaetic System, located in the southern area, along the coast with the Mediterranean Sea; the Subbaetic System, located further north and ...
Since they form the southern edge of the Meseta Central, the Iberian Central Plateau, the northern Sierra Morena ranges barely rise above the level of the surrounding plateau in most places. Nevertheless, the Sierra Morena looks like a true mountain range seen from the Baetic Depression in the south with impressive southward-facing slopes and ...
The mountain ranges that are part of this system are generally aligned \along a southwest-northeast direction. [ 1 ] The best-known range of the Baetic System is the Sierra Nevada , which contains the Mulhacén , the highest mountain in continental Spain and in the Iberian Peninsula .
Topographic map of the Iberian Peninsula, in which the Meseta Central appears labeled by its Spanish name. The Sistema Central mountain range cuts across the Meseta Central, leaving the Submeseta Norte sub-unit (with heights mostly ranging from 700 to 800 m) to the North and the Submeseta Sur (with heights mostly ranging from 600 to 700 m) to ...