Coordinates: 38°22′N 3°50′W

Sierra Morena
The Sierra Morena is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in
Spain. It stretches for 450 kilometres from east to west across the south Sierra Morena
of the Iberian Peninsula, forming the southern border of the Meseta
Central plateau and providing the watershed between the valleys of the
Guadiana to the north and the west, and the Guadalquivir to the south.

Its highest summit is 1,332 m high Bañuela.[1] Other notable peaks are
Corral de Borros 1,312 m and Cerro de la Estrella 1,298 m.

The name Sierra Morena has a strong legendary reputation in Spanish

culture and tradition, with myths about bandits (Los bandidos de Sierra
Morena), a giant snake (El Saetón de Sierra Morena)[2] and a child
brought up by wolves (Marcos Rodríguez Pantoja),[3] among others.[4]
This range is also mentioned in the famous Mexican song "Cielito View of the Sierra Morena range in the
Lindo" and in one of the most well known traditional Spanish songs, Despeñaperros area
"Soy Minero", interpreted by Antonio Molina. Highest point
Peak Bañuela
Elevation 1,332 m (4,370 ft)
Coordinates 38°22′N 3°50′W
Contents
Dimensions
Description Length 450 km (280 mi) E/W
Ranges Width 75 km (47 mi) N/S
History Geography
Spanish Civil War
In literature
Ecology
Protected areas
Main ranges and features
See also
References
External links
Location of the Sierra Morena

Description Location Provinces of Badajoz,

(Extremadura), Ciudad Real,
(Castile-La Mancha) and
The Sierra Morena stretches for 450 km in an E-W direction from the Córdoba, Jaén, Sevilla and
high course of the Guadalmena River in the Sierra del Relumbrar until Huelva (Andalusia)
northwestern Huelva Province, extending into Portugal. The system is Range 38°22′N 3°50′W
the result of the uplift produced by the pressure of the northward- coordinates
moving African Plate.[5] It is made up of hard Paleozoic rocks such as Geology
granite and quartzite, as well as softer materials such as slate and Orogeny Variscan orogeny
gneiss.

Its name, roughly meaning 'dark range', is likely derived from the dark color of some of the rocks and vegetation of
the ranges that make up the mountainous system.[6] It is also mentioned as Sierra Mariánica in some documents.[7]
Formerly it was a border area, a vast wilderness with little population, and its mountain passes were important for the
communication between Andalusia and Central Spain.
The peaks of the ranges are not very high on average, in fact
Sierra Morena's highest point is the lowest among the mountain
systems of the Iberian Peninsula. They are, however, very
consistent in altitude, averaging between 600 and 1,300 m all
along the system. 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 gorges.
Located within the province of Jaén, the Despeñaperros, an Southern side of the Sierra Vieja subrange in Feria,
Badajoz.
abrupt canyon created by the Despeñaperros River, with sheer
walls over 500 metres high, is the natural path for crossing the
Sierra Morena into Andalusia from the north of the peninsula.

View of the Sierra Norte de Sevilla in Constantina

Ranges

The main ranges of the Sierra Morena system from east to west are:

Sierra del Relumbrar, Cerro de Pilas Verdes (1,151 m) and Cerro de San Andrés (1,224 m)
Sierra Madrona or Sierra de Madrona, Bañuela (1,323 m), Corral de Borros (1,312 m),[8] Abulagoso
(1,301 m) and Rebollera (1,161 m)
Sierra de Almadén
Sierra de Alcudia, Navalmarcos (1,057 m) and Judío (1,107 m)
Sierra de Tentudía, also known as Sierra de Tudía, Pico de Tentudía (1,104 m)
Sierra Vieja,[9] also known as Sierra de Feria,[10] El Mirrio (811 m)
Sierra Grande de Hornachos, also known as Sierra de Hornachos and as Sierra Grande
Sierra del Pedroso, marking the limit of the Zújar River basin
Sierra de Maria Andrés[11]
Sierra de Alconera[12]
Sierra de los Pedroches
Sierra de Peñaladrones, near Bélmez, Monte Pelayo, (935 m)
Sierra Albarrana, a low range within Hornachuelos municipal term[13]
Sierra de la Marianta, near Villanueva del Rey
Sierra de los Santos, running west of the Guadiato River
Sierra de la Aguja, near Fuente Obejuna
Sierra de Andújar, Cerro del Cabezo (686 m) with the Virgen de la Cabeza shrine on top
 Sierra de Cardeña, Pico Colmena (828 m)
Sierra de Montoro, Cerro Pingajo (805 m)[14]
Sierra de los Calderones, Cerro de la Estrella (1,298 m)
Sierra Norte de Sevilla, Cerro de La Capitana (960 m), Pico Hamapega (910 m)
Sierra de Aracena, Cerro del Castaño (962 m), Almonaster (915 m)
Picos de Aroche

History
The ranges of Sierra Morena have valuable deposits of lead, silver,
mercury, and other metals, some of which have been exploited
since prehistoric times. The ancient Iberians used the mountain
passes as a passage between the high plateau in the north and the
Guadalquivir basin.[15]

The bleak Sierra Morena mountains were also notorious in former

times for being a haunt of bandits and highwaymen.[16] The
Nuevas Poblaciones de Andalucía y Sierra Morena administrative
division was started in 1767 during the reign of Charles III of 1799–1804 map showing (in red) the Nuevas
Poblaciones de Andalucía y Sierra Morena.
Spain in order to populate the mountainous zone.[17] As a
consequence the area around La Carolina was settled with farmers
that included German, Swiss and Flemish families. One of the
goals of the project was to have safe stopover points for carriages in the desolate region that would be within
reasonable distance from each other.[18]

Marcos Rodríguez Pantoja was a child born in Añora who lived by himself in the middle of the Sierra Morena in the
area that is now the Sierra de Cardeña y Montoro Natural Park. The film "Entre lobos" by the Cordovan director
Gerardo Olivares was based on his experience.[19]

Spanish Civil War

The Sierra Morena was the scenario of many battles and skirmishes throughout the Spanish Civil War.

The battle of Cerro Muriano, part of the August 1936 Córdoba offensive in the region, is famous owing to the picture
of a "falling militiaman" taken by Robert Capa, a picture that sought to represent the tragic fate of the Spanish
Republic.[20][21]

The Battle of Valsequillo (also known as 'Battle of Peñarroya'), involving the Extremaduran Army took place further
west in the area of the range at the Extremaduran front line between 5 January and 4 February 1939 towards the end
of the conflict.[22]

In literature
The Sierra Morena appears in the novel Don Quixote. When Sancho Panza suggests the mountains as a refuge from
the Holy Brotherhood after Don Quixote frees a group of galley slaves, the two escape into the Sierra Morena. In the
mountains, Quixote contemplates the burdens of knighthood.[23] In Voltaire's satire Candide, the main characters stop
there on their escape from Lisbon (chapter 9–10).

Nikolay Karamzin's 1793 prose "Sierra-Morena", where the Russian writer tells of a love story between the author
and young Elvira, is also dedicated to the mountain range.

The forbidding landscape of Sierra Morena was also the setting for the majority of the eerie and supernatural goings-
on in Jan Potocki's The Manuscript Found in Saragossa written in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
Ecology
The Sierra Morena is one of the last habitats of the endangered Iberian lynx. Other charismatic animals of the region
include the Iberian wolf (2019 declared extinct regionally by the Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe), Wild boar,
Red deer, the Spanish imperial eagle and the Golden eagle. Among the amphibians, wells and ponds in many areas of
the range provide a habitat for the near-threatened Iberian ribbed newt.

A National Geographic Channel documentary film featuring an overview of some of the region's wildlife was
produced in 2015.[24]

Protected areas

Certain sectors of Sierra Morena's are protected areas, including natural parks:

Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche Natural Park

Sierra Norte de Sevilla Natural Park
Sierra de Hornachuelos Natural Park
Sierra de Cardeña and Montoro Natural Park
Sierra de Andújar Natural Park
Despeñaperros Natural Park
Peñas de Aroche Natural Site
Sierra Pelada and Rivera del Aserrador Natural Site
Cascada de la Cimbarra Natural Site

Main ranges and features

Pass to Sierra Morena at Bembézar Dam in the Sierra View of Sierra de Andújar
Calatrava la Nueva de Hornachuelos
View of Nacedero Valley, La Cimbarra waterfall Snow in Venta del Charco,
Sierra Madrona Sierra de Cardeña

Sierra de Aracena above The Yeguas River that

Alajar village separates the two ranges of
Sierra de Montoro and Sierra
de Cardeña

See also
Dehesa (pastoral management)
Despeñaperros
Geography of Spain
Geology of the Iberian Peninsula

References
1. Mendikat - Bañuela ( 1.332 m ) (http://www.mendikat.net/monte.php?numero=622es)
2. El Saetón de Sierra Morena. 20 escapadas de leyenda (http://www.turismocastillalamancha.com/esc
apadas/te-proponemos/el-saeton-de-sierra-morena-20-escapadas-de-leyenda/) Archived (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20130501132338/http://www.turismocastillalamancha.com/escapadas/te-propone
mos/el-saeton-de-sierra-morena-20-escapadas-de-leyenda/) 2013-05-01 at the Wayback Machine
3. La historia del niño lobo de Sierra Morena (http://asusta2.com.ar/2010/05/26/la-historia-del-nino-lobo-
de-sierra-morena/)
4. Leyendas vivientes de Sierra Morena Cordobesa (http://universosdepapel.wordpress.com/12-13/mis-
lecturas/leyendas-vivientes-de-sierra-morena/)
5. Wes Gibbons & Teresa Moreno, The geology of Spain. Geological Society of London, 2003
 6. Principales unidades de relieve peninsulares (http://isatorresquevedo.lacoctelera.net/post/2011/10/0
2/principales-unidades-relieve-peninsulares) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2013033004132
8/http://isatorresquevedo.lacoctelera.net/post/2011/10/02/principales-unidades-relieve-peninsulares)
2013-03-30 at the Wayback Machine
7. Gran Enciclopedia de España – Sierra Morena (http://www.granenciclopedia.es/geograf/morena.htm)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20130609193308/http://granenciclopedia.es/geograf/morena.ht
m) 2013-06-09 at the Wayback Machine
8. Mendikat – Corral de Borros ( 1.312 m ) (http://www.mendikat.net/monte.php?numero=623es)
9. Wikiloc – Ascenso a El Mirrio (Sierra Vieja) (http://es.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=2995927)
10. El Poblamiento Prehistórico de Tierra de Barros (Badajoz) (http://departamento.us.es/dpreyarq/web/v
hp1.htm) Archived (https://archive.is/20130701103020/http://departamento.us.es/dpreyarq/web/vhp1.
htm) 2013-07-01 at Archive.today
11. LIC Sierra De María Andrés (http://extremambiente.gobex.es/index.php?view=article&catid=127%3Ar
ed-natura-2000-lic&id=1205%3Alic-&option=com_content&Itemid=462)
12. Plataforma en defensa de la Sierra de Alconera (http://www.nodo50.org/asierrasuroeste/geologia.ht
m) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20120824035832/http://www.nodo50.org/asierrasuroeste/ge
ologia.htm) 2012-08-24 at the Wayback Machine
13. Sierra Albarrana (http://cordobapedia.wikanda.es/wiki/Sierra_Albarrana)
14. La Sierra (http://www.uco.es/~i52cagoj/montoro/m_sierra.htm) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/
20010126103100/http://www.uco.es/~i52cagoj/montoro/m_sierra.htm) 2001-01-26 at the Wayback
Machine
15. El Mundo – La sierra de los bandidos (http://www.elmundo.es/suplementos/natura/2006/5/115230962
2.html)
16. De Bandidos y Bandoleros Sorianos en la Berlanga del XVIII (http://soria-goig.com/Etnologia/pag_08
14.htm)
17. La Ilustración de Sierra Morena y Andalucía (http://lailustraciondesierramorena.es/)
18. Cayetano Alcázar Molina, Las colonias alemanas de Sierra Morena. Notas y documentos para su
historia, Universidad de Murcia, Madrid, 1930
19. Parajes de Córdoba para una escapada "entre lobos" (http://viajar.elperiodico.com/destinos/europa/e
spana/andalucia/cordoba/parajes-de-cordoba-para-una-escapada-entre-lobos)
20. "El combate de Cerro Muriano y la foto de robert capa" (https://web.archive.org/web/2015022517464
6/http://www.laguerracivilencordoba.es/art_combatecerromuriano.htm). Archived from the original (htt
p://www.laguerracivilencordoba.es/art_combatecerromuriano.htm) on 2015-02-25. Retrieved
2015-11-11.
21. La identidad de "Taino" en una foto atribuida a Robert Capa (http://www.culturandalucia.com/GCE/Tai
no/La_identidad_de_Federico_Antonio_Borrell_Garc%C3%ADa_Taino.htm)
22. Antony Beevor. The Battle for Spain. The Spanish CIvil War, 1936–1939. Penguin Books. 2006.
London. p. 375
23. José C. Nieto, "Don Quixote's Penance in Sierra Morena," Juniata College, 2006.
http://services.juniata.edu/jcpress/voices/voices/2006_jose_nieto.pdf
24. National Geographic Channel. 2015. WildMed: The Last Mediterranean Forest.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx2w7qU6n60)

External links
Media related to Sierra Morena at Wikimedia Commons
Physical geography and geology of Spain (http://www.iberianature.com/material/spaingeology.html)
Virtual Cadastral (http://www.maps.data-spain.com/cadastral)
Ordovician – Dobrotivian (Llandeillian Stage) to Ashgill – Crinoids from the Montes de Toledo and
Sierra Morena (https://www.jstor.org/pss/1307117)
Fernando Díaz del Olmo (Universidad de Sevilla), Geomorfología de la Sierra Norte de Sevilla (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20150924085432/http://www.redes-cepalcala.org/ciencias1/geologia/recurso
s_didacticos/geomorfologia_snorte.htm)
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