Sierra Menera
Sierra Menera | |
---|---|
Highest point | |
Peak | Monte de San Ginés |
Elevation | 1,601 m (5,253 ft) |
Coordinates | 40°41′30″N 1°32′33″W / 40.69167°N 1.54250°W |
Dimensions | |
Length | 29 km (18 mi) NNW/SSE |
Width | 5.3 km (3.3 mi) ENE/WSW |
Geography | |
Location | Comunidad de Teruel, Sierra de Albarracín, Aragon Castile-La Mancha |
Parent range | Iberian System, SW zone |
Geology | |
Age of rock | Ordovician & Silurian |
Type of rock | Conglomerate, clay |
Climbing | |
Easiest route | From the towns of Ojos Negros or Villar del Salz |
Sierra Menera is a 31 km (19 mi) long mountain range in the southwestern end of the Iberian System.
Administratively the Sierra Menera belongs to the
The Castle of Peracense rises atop an escarpment in the southern part of the range. The place known as Mirador de la Marajosa offers ample views of the surrounding landscape.[2] There are
Geography
The main range is aligned in a NNW - SSE direction. It is not as high or conspicuous as other mountain ranges of the Iberian System. From the
Sierra Menera's highest point is the 1,601 m high summit known as Monte de San Ginés; another important peak is the 1591 m high Mojón Alto.
History
The Sierra Menera's name derives from the word for
A 200 km long railway line was built by the Compañía Minera de Sierra Menera S. A. in 1903 in order to bring the iron ore to the harbor of Sagunto. This was the longest private company-owned railway line in Europe. A blast furnace facility also belonging to the company was also located in Sagunto, where a pelletizing plant and a long jetty were built in the 1970s.
The Sierra Menera range has been much scarred by environmentally unsound mining practices across the centuries. There are many tons of untreated debris and slag scattered across the range, contaminating the soil and the groundwater. Since mid 20th century, large-scale open-pit mining compounded matters, causing severe land degradation in vast mountain areas.[5]
The Sagunto ore-processing facilities,
At the time of the closure of the mines there was no official regulation forcing the mining company to repair the environmental damage caused by its activity.[7] The Spanish Mining Law relevant at the time didn't include a provision regarding environmental impact of mining activity when it was promulgated in 1973.[8]
See also
- Mountains of Aragon
- Ojos Negros
References
- ^ Xiloca - Sierra Menera
- ^ Wikiloc: Minas Ojos Negros - Mirador de la Marajosa - Alto del Lobo
- ^ Ojos Negros - yacimientos metalúrgicos - Celtiberia Histórica
- Valencia, 1972
- ISBN 84-7733-698-9
- ^ La Compañía Minera de Sierra Menera. Breve historia Archived 2012-03-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Luis Diego Arribas, Contemporary Art and Opencast Mining, Revista de Humanidades, University of Zaragoza. 2009
- ^ Ley de Minas de 21 de Julio de 1973