Approach to the geology of Aragón. The Geologic Patrimony Aragones. Nature in Aragon. Geology Nature of Aragon. Spain.

The geologic ríqueza of Aragón is impressive:
Old glaciers, torrid solariums, steep reliefs, ample plains, always blue lakes, desert steppes, leafy forests, feracious fertile valleys...

All this and much more can be in the landscaping mosaic that forms Aragonese earth, from the heights superior to the 3,000 meters in the Pyrenean one to the 150 meters on the level of the sea in which is the bed of the Ebro.

Near 50,000 Km2 of extension of this community, 9.4 % of the one of Spain, region is formed by three great geologic dominions: the Pyrenees, the depression of the Ebro with the somontanos Iberian Pirenaico and and the Iberian mountain range, that lodge, in addition to the great spaces to consider, manifold points more reduced in extension, but not for that reason deserving of neglect or ignorance.

The Pyrenees, to the north

The Pyrenees are already of in case, as a whole, a true natural museum.
It has a great variety of litografias, whose older ages go back to the Precámbrico (we can be located around the 600 million years), are structured of complex form, like result of the approach between the plates Iberian and European.
That process, whose last phases had to culminate about 20 million ago years, has left its sequels, in form of a certain growth of the reliefs that still remain, of a moderate sismica activity and a termalismo of which we have good model in the Baths of Panticosa. In the other end, in the valley of Benasque, the Forau de Aigualluts is a splendid kárstica example of torca, that devours a mighty torrent.

The Pirenaica mountain range, aligned of this a the west, extends from the Mediterranean to the Cantabrico. The central part, exactly steepest, corresponds to the most northern part of Aragón, to a large extent to the province of Huesca.

Of north to the south, the Aragonese Pyrenees or Pyrenean power stations present/display three parallel geographic units:

Pyrenean the axial one, formed by a series of mountain ranges that rarely lower of 2,500 meters and separated of others by origin valleys a glacier that descend towards the Ebro in direction the north-south. The tips of Tendeñera (2,853 ms), Collarada (2,886 ms), Vignemale (3,291 ms), Perdido Mount (3,355 ms), Posets (3,361 ms), and Cotiella (2,965 ms) are good sample of the height of these mountain ranges that reach their greater altitude to the east, in the bulk of the Maladeta, where the summit rises highest Aragonese, the Aneto, with 3,404 ms of altitude. The valleys of Ansó, Fact, Canfranc, Tena, Gistaín or Benasque mark deep the dividing one between mountain ranges.
In highest summits or axial zone material paleozoicos can be observed - oldest of the chain -, like slates, metamórficas limestones, rocks and granites. Leaned to this axial zone, in the inner mountain ranges, massive calcáreos like Cotiella, Tendeñera, Turbón appear important ...
More towards the Ebro, the rivers that until then had excavated perpendicular valleys to the mountain ranges, take the East-West direction forming parallel depressions of the main alignment from the mountain range. These intermediate depressions, although do not have continuity to each other, resemble a great valley of soft materials (flys Eocene, marls, etc.) that it would unite Field with the depression of Jaca and the Channel of Berdún if were not cut to half of way by the mountain ranges of San Juan of Peña and Oroel.
More to the south, giving passage to the somontano and already watching the valley, appears the PrePyrenean one: small mountain ranges formed by limestones that were lowering from the most northern zones of the Pyrenean one by effect of the alpine orogenesis. The mountain range of Guara, with 2,077 ms, emphasizes between these mountain ranges cut by deep tubes opened by the rivers that, mighty and fast, look for the Ebro.

The river basin of the Ebro; the paper of the Ebro river.

The river basin of the Ebro, valley and somontanos, begins to form makes about 60 million years, during orogenia alpine, giving rise to a vast extension, true geographic depression. Their edges are formed by detríticos materials coming from the mountain ranges and its central part by yesíferos and evaporíticos materials produced when drying up the inner sea that makes million years was the valley.

It contains many remarkable geologic elements: the salty ones of Alcañíz and Sástago-Bujaraloz, the steppes of Eastern Belchite or the Bardenas, the exhumados paleocanales of Alcañiz or Caspe, the mines of Eddy salt or the Mallos de Riglos are some examples to mention.

The valley

The central zone of Aragon occupies the valley of the Ebro and the somontanos of the Pyrenean one and the Iberian. Great part of Zaragoza and Huesca and the Low turolense Aragón is regions that watch the Ebro.

The main body of this geographic unit is the ample valley formed by the terraces of the Ebro and, sometimes like in the city of Zaragoza, other affluent rivers. On these terraces, the runner of the Ebro, lives more than half on the Aragoneses. Thanks to regadio are rich earth and to the underground water availability and around the city of Zaragoza, political and economic capital of Aragón, to industries and services that they attract not only the ribereños towns, but to all the people of Aragón have risen.

To the north and the south of the valley of the Ebro small platforms like Alcubierre rise (822 ms), the Tooth (627 ms) and Mounts of Castejon (744 ms). Of these "teeth" they take extensive piedemontes sectioned by a sporadic network of drainage. That network, times forms valleys in flat bottom (bonds) and others, strongly gotten stuck valleys that make arise yesíferos or saline lands. They are landscapes of extreme dryness, not only by the little thing of precipitations, but also by the influence of the wind and the litología of the land. In Monegros, Bardenas or Calanda appears the Aragonese desert.

The Iberian Mountain range.

The Iberian mountain range, that occupies almost all the province of Teruel and the western margin of the one of Zaragoza, is another great sample book of geologic wealth. It is formed in next periods in the time (the geologic time), although noncoincident, to the Pyrenees.

Teruel has been well-known by its intense mining activity in relation, mainly, with the coal (the Val de Ariño is a very representative zone) and, until for years, with the iron mineral (Black Eyes). Mineria of clays, also important, finds a good exponent in Galbe, whose term constitutes in addition a valuable deposit to rest of dinosaurios. Another paleontological deposit good known between the collectors is the one of fossils of Book frogs.

Poljes of the turolense southern strip, the dolinas and other geomorfológicos enchantments of the mountain range of Albarracin, the magical Crystal Grotto of Mills or the surgencias of the birth of the Pitarque river are good sample of which the action of the water is able on limestones.

The periglaciales forms in the mountainous bulks of Güdar, Javalambre and Albarracín are also showy, and quizas, among them, most outstanding are the peat bogs and stone rivers of the mountain range of the Tremendal.

The vertical layers of the Organos de Montoro, the extensive endorreica lagoon of Gallocanta, the travertinos and tubes of the rivers Table and Stone, the termalismo of Alhama de Aragón and Jaraba, the alluvial fans of Palomera mountain range ... are so single some cases more of the ample repertoire available.

Other subjects on Geology in Aragon

Points of Geologic interest in Aragon.

Teruel

Dinosaurs in Aragon.

Also Aragon enjoys a diverse and varied Nature where passing by plants, animals, Geology, or landscapes we can arrive at a fantastic bestiary that lives in its monuments.

The information will not be complete without a stroll by its three provinces, with shutdown in some of its spectacular landscapes like Ordesa, the Moncayo, Monegros or by opposition the Ebro.

Also you can dedicarte to the intangible ones: from the legend compilation that also does to universal Aragon.

The pasapues project is an extension of the Aragón project is like that, and tries to collect and relate all possible types of documentary information about Aragon: texts, books, articles, maps, illustrations, photographs, narrations, etc., and proceed to its publication and diffusion.

Approach to the geology of Aragón. The Geologic Patrimony Aragones. Nature in Aragon.

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Approach to the geology of Aragón. The Geologic Patrimony Aragones. Nature in Aragon. Aragon