and
La Maliciosa from the
Navacerrada Reservoir in summer , the range's highest peak s, with Monte Abantos peak in the background
Etymology of the name The name, (Guadarrama Mountains), is taken from the Guadarrama River and the town of
Guadarrama, both of which are located in these mountains. The word
Guadarrama itself is derived from the
Arabic words for 'sandy river' — composed of
guad (from , meaning 'river') and
arrama (from , meaning 'sandy'). Another interpretation considers unlikely that a minor river could design a vast mountain range, and makes the name derive from the Latin , meaning 'water divide', which very aptly describes the position of the sierra between the two largest water basins in the
Iberian Peninsula, those of the
Douro, to the north, and of the
Tagus, to the south. In the Middle Ages, this mountain range was called ('dragon range') because of the profile of Siete Picos mountain.
General information 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. The range's highest peak,
Peñalara, reaches 2,428 metres above sea level. The range begins in the valley of the
Alberche river, which divides the
Sierra de Gredos into two portions, and finishes at the
Somosierra Pass, which serves as the
hydrographic boundary between the river basins of the
Tagus and
Douro rivers. The mountains contribute
fluvial material to both rivers through the action of various mountain streams, such as the
Jarama, Guadarrama, and
Manzanares, which empty into the Tagus, and the
Duratón, Cega, and Eresma, which flow into the Duero. The
geographical coordinates of the range's northeast terminus lies near 41° 4' North, 3° 44' West, and the southwestern end near 40° 22' North, 4° 18' West. Diverging from its main southwest-to-northeast alignment, the range has a westward-trending branch: the ("Long Rope"), or Carpetanos Mountains (Montes Carpetanos). (This name is sometimes also applied to the northern part of the main axis of the Guadarramas between
Peñalara and
Somosierra.) The 15 km long Carpetanos sub-range is an imposing sight, starting in the Community of Madrid at
Navacerrada Pass, and averaging more than 2,000 metres in elevation all the way to the Morcuera Pass (). From there, the Carpetanos slope downward until they reach the
confluence of the
Lozoya and Jarama rivers. The highest peak of the Cuerda Larga is the Cabezas de Hierro at 2,383 metres. Between Cuerda Larga and the main extent of the Sierra de Guadarrama lies the Lozoya valley, one of the most picturesque mountain valleys of the Sistema Central, which attracts numerous tourists in the winter for
skiing, as well as in the summer for other diversions. Another western branch of the Guadarramas, ("The Dead Woman"), or (Quintanar Mountains), begins at the Fuenfría Pass (Puerto de la Fuenfría), and is located entirely in the province of Segovia. It is 11 km long and has several
summits surpassing 2,000 metres, among them, the
Montón de Trigo ("Wheat Pile"). In addition to the and , a series of small mountains or
foothills are located on the periphery of the main range. Notably, in the
Segovia area, there are the Cerro (hill) de las Cardosillas (1,635 m, 5,364 ft), the Cerro de Matabueyes (1,485 m, 4,872 ft), the Cerro del Caloco (1,565 m, 5,134 ft), and the Sierra de Ojos Albos (1,662 m, 5,452 ft); and, in the
Madrid area (from north to south), there are the Cerro de San Pedro (1,423 m, 4,668 ft), the
Sierra del Hoyo (1,404 m, 4,606 ft), the Cerro Cañal (1,331 m, 4,366 ft), and Las Machotas (1,466 m, 4,809 ft).
Notable peaks The peaks of Guadarrama have a relatively soft silhouette, with few standing out as exceptionally larger than others in the chain: • Monte Abantos (1,753 m, 5,751 ft) •
Bola del Mundo (2,265 m, 7,431 ft) • Cabezas de Hierro (2,383 m, 7,818 ft), highest of the Cuerda Larga • Dos Hermanas (2,285 m, 7,496 ft) • Flecha (2,078 m, 6,807 ft) •
La Maliciosa (2,227 m, 7,306 ft) • La Najarra (2,108 m, 6,916 ft) • El Nevero (2,209 m, 7,227 ft); one of the most northern peaks in the mountain range • Pandasco (2,238 m, 7,342 ft) • Peña del Águila (2,010 m, 6,594 ft) •
Peñalara (2,428 m, 7,965 ft), the highest mountain of the Guadarramas • La Peñota (1,945 m, 6,381 ft) •
Risco de los Claveles (2,387 m, 7,831 ft) • Risco de los Pájaros (2,334 m, 7,657 ft) • Siete Picos (2,138 m, 7,014 ft) •
Montón de Trigo (2,161 m, 7,089 ft) • Cerro de Valdemartín (2,280 m, 7,480 ft) • El Yelmo (1,717 m, 5,633 ft), the most important peak of
La Pedriza Geology peak in winter The Sierra de Guadarrama is the result of a clash between
tectonic plates belonging to the South sub-plateau and the North sub-plateau, both part of the Iberian Peninsula's larger
Meseta Central (Central Plateau). The mountain range was
formed during the
Cenozoic era (starting 66 million years ago), although the predominant material of which the mountains are composed (
granite shelf tableland) was preexisting, having been laid down during the
Variscan orogeny during the
Paleozoic era when the
continental collision between Laurasia and
Gondwana occurred to form
Pangaea. The mountains have undergone significant erosion since their formation, which is the reason why many peaks, especially in the northern and southern sections, have flattened summits, called "cuerdas" by
mountaineers. For these reasons, the material making up the Sierra de Guadarrama is of more ancient origin than many other well-known mountain systems, such as the
Pyrenees, the
Alps, the
Andes and the
Himalayas.
Formation detail In the mid Paleozoic era (between 360 and 290 mya), an initial substratum of ancient granites and sediments started bending and metamorphizing, forming
gneiss. Thereafter, approximately 290 and 250 mya during the
Carboniferous period, the gneiss fractured, allowed a mass of
magma to reach the surface which ultimately hardened into a granite shelf tableland. In the final phase of the Paleozoic era, during the
Permian period, the tectonic plate collision causing the whole mountain range to rise. Finally, during the end of the Paleozoic through the
Mesozoic era (between 250 and 65 mya) and up to the present, ongoing
erosion processes reduced the size and smoothed and rounded the profile of the mountains of the Guadarramas. It was also during this
geologic era that an ocean shift took place, causing the present-day location of the mountains to be part of the ocean for a time. It is possible that the then-peak formations were only small islands, barely rising above the level of the ocean. This accounts for the presence of
limestone (a
sedimentary rock formed predominately from
calcite derived from
marine organisms) found in the rims of Guadaramma mountain peaks and in some of their interior caves. Limestone formations are evident at a number of the peaks, notably
El Vellón,
La Pinilla and
Patones. Other processes were in play during the Cenozoic era that shaped the present form of the Guadarramas. The erosion of the rocky
massif provoked sedimentation which filled the mountain basins with
sandstone. The action of glaciers during the
Quaternary Period (1.8 mya up to the present) shaped several mountain profiles with small
cirques, carved
glacial lakes and left behind
moraines. All three features can be found on
Peñalara. Additionally, some traces of glacial passage are found in
El Nevero and
La Maliciosa in the form of
sheepback-grooved rocks and small cirques. Finally, in the last million years, the action of glaciers caused consolidation of the network of rivers crisscrossing the mountain slopes, carved valleys and terraces resulting in the current appearance of the landscape.
Principal cities and towns The Sierra de Guadarrama is surrounded by prominent population centres, which feature many second residences, occupied during holiday periods. The population pressure on and nearby the southeast slopes of the mountains near the
Community of Madrid is very high, motivated partly by the large quantity of people who wish to live near the mountains. The most important cities are
San Lorenzo de El Escorial,
Guadarrama,
Navacerrada,
Cercedilla,
Manzanares el Real,
Miraflores de la Sierra and
Rascafría in the Community of Madrid, and Los Ángeles de San Rafael and
San Ildefonso in the province of Segovia. These towns are departure points for accessing the nearby mountain slopes and function as a centre of the tourism trade providing lodgings, restaurants and stores for visitors. Although these
municipalities are located at the feet of the mountains, they are situated below 1,200 meters. The Sierra de Guadarrama serves as backdrop for the cities of Madrid and Segovia, although Segovia is located closer to the peaks than is Madrid.
Places of interest , as seen from Siete Picos 's
Laguna grande The Sierra de Guadarrama has a series of valleys and zones which are of special interest from both an
aesthetic and
ecological viewpoint. Due to the proximity of Madrid's metropolitan area to the Guadarramas, many such special interest zones are host to a large number of mountain climbers and general interest tourists the year round. The most heavily visited areas are the
Parque Natural de Peñalara (Peñalara
Natural Park) and
La Pedriza, an unusual mountain formation. ;Valle (valley) de la Fuenfría:An eastern valley in
Cercedilla, the Community of Madrid, featuring one of the better preserved wild pine forests of the mountains. The valleys faces in a north to south direction, has a length of approximately 5 km, a width of approximately 2 km and is located between Siete Picos and the edge of the
province of Segovia. The valley's dense forest features a deep creek and a well-preserved, ancient
Roman road that crosses the mountain running toward the Fuenfría Pass. On weekends and holidays the valley is flooded with tourists and mountain climbers who debark at a recreation area with a car park at the valley's lower edge. ;Valle de Valsaín ;:Like the Fuenfría, the Valsaín valley is also covered by a well-preserved pine tree woodland, considered the best of the Guadarramas. It is a wide, sloped valley running in a north to south direction, having a length of approximately 10 km, an average width of 5 km, and is located between the mountains, Mujer Muerta and the bulk of
Peñalara. On its lower slopes is the municipality of Valsain, named after the valley. In the heart of the valley, amidst the pine and
oak groves, there are three separate recreation centers, each with areas for parking. Nearby these areas are a number of human-made Eresma river dams that create small pools suitable for bathing in the summer. Several paths begin in the recreation area that crisscross the whole of the woodsy valley. ;La Pedriza:
The Pedriza is one of the more exceptional areas of the mountain range. It is located on the south slope of the
Cuerda Larga, in the municipal area of
Manzanares el Real (part of the
province of Madrid) and inside the
Parque Regional (Regional Park) de la Cuenca Alta del Manzanares. The Pedriza's landscape is noted for its enormous rock formations and walls of
granite displaying unusual and eye-catching configurations. Below the high rocky areas is an underbrush made up of
rockroses and
savin junipers which become a pine thicket farther way from the rock face. At the heart of the small valleys that make up La Pedriza runs the
Manzanares river at the high
river basin of its course. In the low part of the area is a recreational area with parking accommodations which allows visitors several routes to cross the territory. The most esteemed and sensational peak of La Pedriza, as well as its largest, is
El Yelmo (The Helmet), a gigantic granite rockface towering over the surrounding peaks, rising to 1,700 m in elevation. El Yelmo's south face presents a massive stone wall that is highly prized by advanced mountain climbers. Throughout its history, La Pedriza's complex of caves was used as a hideout by
exiles and by those seeking shelter during times of war. ;Peñalara's cirques and lakes: On the south slope of the Sierra de Guadarrama's highest peak,
Peñalara (2,428 m), is a protected area considered to be of exceptional beauty and which has been declared a
nature reserve under the title
Parque Natural de Peñalara; the only area of the Guadarramas to receive such official designation. In the reserve are found, three cirques and a series of lakes, all the handiwork of ancient
glacial action. Peñalara's cirques take the form of walls rising more than 300 meters in the shape of a "U". Several small lakes are found in the areas surrounding the cirques, up to a height of approximately 2,000 m, which give rise to streams and small waterfalls during spring thaws. Most outstanding of these are the
Laguna Grande (Big Lagoon), the
Laguna Chica (Small Lagoon), the
Lagunas de los Claveles (Lagoons of the Carnations) and the
Laguna de los Pájaros (Lagoon of the Birds). Below 2,000 m, wild pine forests are also found in the designated zone. In the heights of the nature reserve are prairies in which high mountain
shrubs dominate the terrain. The reserve is accessed by three routes feeding to and from the
Puerto de Cotos. ;Valle del Lozoya:The Valle del Lozoya is the most extensive valley of the Sierra de Guadarrama range and one of the best
conserved. It is located entirely within the Community of Madrid, between the Cuerda Larga and the main alignment of the mountain system, running in a southwest to northeast direction, and located, with respect the range as a whole, at its northeast stretch. The valley is more than 25 km in length and 6 km in average width. The slopes of the valley are covered with wild pine, oak and
chestnut forests. By contrast, the lower valley area is dominated by grass pastures and
farm crops. In the heart of the valley are two towns: Rascafría and Lozoya, both of which lend their names to the two rivers that run through the valley.
Hydrography The climate of the Sierra de Guadarrama is marked by heavy
precipitation which gives birth to the territory's numerous streams and rivers. There are several rivers of special relevance. The range's Segovia facing slopes give rise to the Moros and Eresma rivers, with the latter flowing through the City of
Segovia. The Madrid facing slopes give rise to the Guadarrama river (from which the range and the town of
Guadarrama take their names), the
Manzanares river, that passes by Madrid, and the
Lozoya river (location of the
El Atazar Dam), that passes by its namesake valley. On the South slope of the peak of Peñalara, at 2,200 m of elevation, there is a series of small, protected lakes of
glacial origin. Although the mountain range proper features a great number of
dams, they are all of small volume. In the Segovia facing slopes, the more prominent dams are Peces, Revenga, Pontón and Pirón, while on the Madrid facing slopes are found the Tobar, Jarosa, Navacerrada and Pinilla. Outside the boundaries of the mountain range, in the Community of Madrid, there are three dams of much greater size: the Valmayor,
Santillana and Pardo. ==Flora and fauna==