| Sierra de Orihuela | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 634 m (2,080 ft) |
| Listing | List of mountains in the Valencian Community |
| Coordinates | 38°06′28″N0°58′08″W / 38.10778°N 0.96889°W Coordinates: 38°06′28″N0°58′08″W / 38.10778°N 0.96889°W |
| Geography | |
  Sierra de Orihuela Spain | |
| Location | Vega Baja del Segura, Valencian Community Region of Murcia |
| Parent range | Cordillera Prebética, Eastern zone |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | karstic |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | From Orihuela |
Sierra de Orihuela (Valencian : Serra d'Oriola) [1] is a 9.4 km (6 mi) long mountain range in the Vega Baja del Segura (Valencian : Baix Segura) comarca, Valencian Community, Spain. Its highest point is Peña de Orihuela (634 m). This range is named after the town of Orihuela (Valencian : Oriola), located at the feet of the mountains. The western end of the range is within the limits of the Santomera municipal term, in the Region of Murcia.
The Valencian Community is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and Madrid with more than 4.9 million inhabitants. Its homonymous capital Valencia is the third largest city and metropolitan area in Spain. It is located along the Mediterranean coast on the east side of the Iberian peninsula. It borders with Catalonia to the north, Aragon and Castilla–La Mancha to the west, and Murcia to the south. The Valencian Community consists of three provinces which are Castellón, Valencia and Alicante.
Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain, is a country mostly located on the Iberian Peninsula in Europe. Its territory also includes two archipelagoes: the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa, and the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. The African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla make Spain the only European country to have a physical border with an African country (Morocco). Several small islands in the Alboran Sea are also part of Spanish territory. The country's mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar; to the north and northeast by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west and northwest by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean.
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These conspicuous limestone mountains rise abruptly from the low Segura River Valley floor and have some very steep cliffs popular with rock climbers, like "La Pared Negra". [2] There is very little vegetation on the arid mountain slopes and both physically and geologically the Sierra de Orihuela is similar to the Sierra de Callosa range located only 2.6 km to the east. Smoother Sierra de Hurchillo is located 4.8 km to the south
Limestone is a sedimentary rock which is often composed of the skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral, foraminifera, and molluscs. Its major materials are the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate (CaCO3).
Sierra de Callosa is a 4.6 km (3 mi) long mountain range in the Vega Baja del Segura comarca, Valencian Community, Spain. Its highest point is Águila. This range is named after the town of Callosa de Segura located at the feet of the mountains.
