Sierra Nevada (Spain)

Sierra Nevada was formed during the Alpine Orogeny, a mountain-building event that also formed the European Alps to the east and the Atlas Mountains of northern Africa across the Mediterranean Sea to the south. The Sierra as observed today formed during the Paleogene and Neogene Periods (66 to 1.8 million years ago) from the collision of the African and Eurasian continental plates. ==Geography==

Central to the mountain range is a ridge running broadly west-south-west - east-north-east. For a substantial distance, the watershed stays consistently above . On the southern side of the range, several long, narrow river valleys lead off towards the south-west, separated by a number of subsidiary ridges. On the steeper and craggier northern side, the valleys have less regular orientations. This side is dominated by the Rio Genil which starts near Mulhacén and into which many of the other rivers flow. Geologically, the range is composed chiefly of soft micaceous schists, sloping steeply to the north, but more gradually to the south and south-east. {{Weather box ==Ecology==

The Sierra Nevada is home to diverse plant communities, which vary with elevation and exposure. Mediterranean evergreen broadleaf forests and woodlands predominate at lower and middle elevations, with deciduous and conifer forests at higher elevations and subalpine shrublands and grasslands at the highest elevations. The Sierra Nevada is a biodiversity hotspot, home to many endemic and relict species. The European Environment Agency and WWF include the Sierra Nevada in the Iberian conifer forests ecoregion. Evergreen oaks, chiefly holm oak (Quercus rotundifolia), cork oak (Quercus suber) and kermes oak (Quercus coccifera) and maquis shrubland dominated by Olea europaea, Ceratonia siliqua, Laurus nobilis, Arbutus unedo, Rhamnus alaternus, Pistacia terebinthus, Pistacia lentiscus, Erica arborea, Erica scoparia, Phillyrea angustifolia, Phillyrea latifolia, Myrtus communis and Chamaerops humilis grow on dry and south-facing slopes at low and mid-elevations. The Sierra Nevada is one of the foremost plant biodiversity hotspots in the Western Mediterranean. 2100 species of vascular plants have been recorded in the Sierra Nevada, of which 80 are endemic, including about 40% of high-elevation species. Some species endemic to the Sierra Nevada and nearby Baetic mountains include Aquilegia nevadensis, Arenaria funiculata, Carex camposii, Centaurea bombycina, Centaurea granatensis, Delphinium nevadense, Galium erythrorrhizon, Globularia spinosa, Kernera boissieri, Lactuca singularis, Lavandula lanata, Linaria verticillata, Potentilla reuteri, Primula intricata subsp. lofthousei, Pterocephalus spathulatus, Salvia candelabrum, Saxifraga erioblasta, Saxifraga nevadensis, Senecio quinqueradiatus, and Vella spinosa. ==Sport==

• Sierra Nevada Ski Station == In Media ==

The British Electronic-Duo The KLF filmed a portion of their unreleased 1989 Road Film "The White Room" around and on Sierra Nevada. ==Gallery==

File:Avenida de la Constitución (Granada).jpg|Sierra Nevada—view from Granada city File:JDCANO ALCAZABA.JPG|Alcazaba mountain File:Landschaft in der Sierra Nevada06.jpg|Landscape south of Pitres File:Rio Poqueira01.jpg|Stone bridge over Rio Poqueira, Sierra Nevada File:Sierra Nevada Borreguiles 6.jpg|The Sierra Nevada Ski Station File:The IRAM 30-meter telescope.jpg|Sierra Nevada Radiotelescope File:Observatorio de Calar Alto, en Gérgal (Almería).jpg|Calar Alto Observatory == See also ==