Circo de Gredos

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View of the Circo de Gredos in Spring, from the North-East in the Barrerones. Circo de Gredos.JPG
View of the Circo de Gredos in Spring, from the North-East in the Barrerones.
View of the Circo de Gredos in Summer, from the Barrerones. Vista del Circo de Gredos.jpg
View of the Circo de Gredos in Summer, from the Barrerones.
Laguna Grande de Gredos (Great Lagune of Gredos). Laguna Grande.jpg
Laguna Grande de Gredos (Great Lagune of Gredos).

The Circo de Gredos is a glacial cirque in the central part of the north slope of the Sierra de Gredos (the main range in the Sistema Central mountains in central Spain). It is one of the most important areas in the Parque Regional de la Sierra de Gredos.

Cirque An amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion

A cirque is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie and cwm. A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform arising from fluvial erosion.

Sierra de Gredos mountain range

The Sierra de Gredos is a mountain range in central Spain that spans the provinces of Ávila, Salamanca, Cáceres, Madrid, and Toledo. It is part of the much larger Sistema Central of mountain ranges. Its highest point is Pico Almanzor, at 2,592 metres and it has been declared a natural park by the Autonomous Community of Castile and León. The Sierra de Gredos is one of the most extensive mountain ranges of the Central System; it comprises five river valleys: the Alto Tormes, the Alto Alberche, the Tiétar Oriental, the Tiétar Occidental y la Vera, and the Valle del Ambroz. The first known inhabitants were the Vettones, a pre-Roman Celtic people. The central part of the range encomprises the Sierra de Gredos Regional Park.

Sistema Central mountain range

The Central System, Spanish and Portuguese: Sistema Central, is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in the Iberian Peninsula. The 2,592 m high Pico Almanzor is its highest summit.

It is the most significant glacial cirque of the Sierra de Gredos, and of the entire Sistema Central, approximately 33 hectares (330,000 square meters) in area. At the East edge of the cirque is the summit Pico Almanzor, the highest of the range at 2,592 meters. At the northeast edge, the bottom of the cirque, is the Laguna Grande de Gredos at a height of 1,940 metres. Next to this lake is the mountain refuge Elola, much frequented by mountaineers who intend to climb Pico Almanzor. The cirque is in the basin of the river Tormes, a tributary of the river Duero. It is part of the Sierra de Gredos Regional Park.

Hectare Metric unit of area

The hectare is an SI accepted metric system unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides, or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is about 0.405 hectare and one hectare contains about 2.47 acres.

Pico Almanzor mountain

Pico Almanzor is the highest mountain in central Spain. Situated in the Sierra de Gredos in the province of Ávila, Almanzor is 2,591 metres (8,501 ft) high. It is made of granite. The mountain is also known as Pico de Almanzor and Moro Almanzor.

Sierra de Gredos Regional Park

Sierra de Gredos Regional Park is a protected natural area in Spain, covering 86,397 hectares. The estimated population within the socio-economic influence area is 21,182. The law that declared the status of the park was published in the BOE in July 22, 1996.

There is a route that leads to the cirque which is very busy with tourists and mountaineers, particularly in the summer. This path starts from parking that is known as the Plataforma de Gredos at 1,770 meters. The well defined route climbs South-West from here, and then across a grassy boggy moor to arrive at the Barrerones (2,210 metres). From here, the path descends south until reaching the Laguna Grande (or great lake) de Gredos, and the refuge Elola.

See also

Coordinates: 40°14′57″N5°16′54″W / 40.2492°N 5.28167°W / 40.2492; -5.28167

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

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Gredos may refer to:

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