Top 4 Natural Monuments around Alcóntar

If you are passing through the Sierra de los Filabres near the summit of Calar Alto, the Fuente La Merendera is an almost mandatory stop at 1882 meters altitude. This spring is famous for its fresh water that gushes from the metamorphic rocks of the sierra. Officially there is a sign warning that it is not potable, but that does not stop locals and many passers-by from queuing with canisters, attracted by its water. However, it is a good idea to filter the water before drinking it. If you need a long break, just across the road you will find a recreational area complete with tables, barbecues, and a viewpoint with spectacular views.

Wow

Both mountain ranges ensure that it hardly rains in this semi-desert area.

Sierra de Baza and Sierra de Los Filabres are part of a remote mountain range over 2.000m height in the province of Granada and Almería, and the most isolated area of Badlands. This mountain range was a historic crossroads of cultures, and its legacy includes remains of Roman aqueducts or Arab castles. At the highest point of the range lies the iconic Calar Alto Observatory (2.168m), easy recognizable from far away. The range also includes one of the most iconic and spectacular mountain pass in the Iberian Peninsula, el Puerto de Velefique (1.820m), popular by the high number of hairpin in the South side. The South limit of Sierra de los Filabres reaches the village of Gérgal, considered the North gate of the Tabernas Desert.

La Encina del El Marchal del Abogado seems to emerge from a world of beings from fairy tales. It is an example of those rare botanical individuals that has survived thousands of years, witnessing the passage of time and the radical transformations of its environment. The common sense of the people, the overwhelming logic has protected them for generations and has allowed them to survive over so many years, tree species that are part of the bustle of people, peoples and their history. In the Almanzora Valley there is an important and still unknown tree mass cataloged and singled out in aspects as diverse as its longevity, a capricious morphology, height or its symbiosis with the nearby population. The Encina del El Marchal del Abogado, located in the municipality of Serón, is an obvious example due to its unique shape, since it offers a perimeter of trunk that exceeds six meters and symbolizes, together with the Poplar of El Marchal del Abogado, a set of opposites that represent the versatility of the arboreal world and evoke the well-known couple of knight and squire. Close to the Sierra de Baza Natural Park, in addition to the area's interesting monumental and ethnographic heritage (Las Menas de Serón mines), the headwaters of the Almanzora offer an interesting Greenway for non-motorized enjoyment. This unique botanical specimen is part of an excellent group of unique trees that dot the Almanzora Valley and its slopes: Acerolo del Cortijo de las Iglesias, Cornicabra del Puente de El Valle, Encina de El Marchal de El Abogado, Poplar de El Marchal de The Lawyer, Encina de la Fuente el Pino, Encina de los Trébedes and Olivo de las Lomas.

Outcrops of carbonate alpujárrides materials that are what make up the aquifer. The schists, phyllites and quartzites define the eastern and northern impervious substratum and edges, while contributing to the compartmentalization of the aquifer due to the existence of numerous tectonic scales. The southern and western limits are occupied by Miocene and Plioquaternary materials, which except those that make up the alluvial of the Almanzora River are of low permeability. The thickness of the limestone and aquifer dolomites is estimated at 300 m. The feeding of the aquifer comes from the direct infiltration of part of the rain that falls on the permeable outcrops and from the surface run-off waters, coming from the shales and phyllites of the environment. The discharge is produced by boreholes and by springs and galleries located on the southern edge. This group of springs emerges together with a group of small Triassic carbonate outcrops that emerge in the Almanzora valley, in the middle of the Miocene loamy pack. The waters of these springs present the peculiarity of being slightly thermal (28 ° C or more), the most important being Cela, Perica, Cañada y Plaza, Algibe and Huelago. This thermalism is also manifested in certain soundings, some of which are upwelling. The springs and galleries that are controlled show flows with slight decreases with a contribution of 3 to 4 Hm3 / year. The evolution of levels and flows of springs reveals the compartmentalisation of the aquifer in different blocks. Like the Cela spring, the Fuencaliente upwellings are possibly linked to the existence of an important fracture, or zone of fractures forming the "horst" of Fuencaliente, parallel to the edge of the Almanzora depression, thanks to which the emergence of water will take place, which would have circulated in depth through the carbonate formations of alpujarrides units.

The water from Fuente Perica comes from carbonated alpujárrides materials. Schists, phyllites and quartzites define the eastern and northern impermeable substrate and edges, while contributing to the compartmentalization of the aquifer due to the existence of numerous tectonic scales. The southern and western limits are occupied by Miocene and Plioquaternary materials, which, except for those that make up the Almanzora River alluvial, are of low permeability. The thickness of the aquiferous limestones and dolomites is estimated at 300 m. The supply of the aquifer comes from the direct infiltration of part of the rain that falls on the permeable outcrops and surface runoff water, coming from the surrounding schists and phyllites. The discharge occurs through boreholes and through springs and galleries located on the southern edge. This group of springs emerges together with a group of small Triassic carbonate outcrops that outcrop in the Almanzora valley, in the middle of the Miocene loamy package. The waters of these springs have the peculiarity of being slightly thermal (28 °C or more), the most important being Cela, Perica, Cañada and Plaza, Algibe and Huelago. This thermalism is also manifested in certain wells, some of which are springs. Like the Cela spring, the Fuencaliente, Perica and Algibe springs are possibly linked to the existence of an important fracture, or zone of fractures forming the Fuencaliente "horst", parallel to the edge of the Almanzora depression, thanks at which the emergence of the water that precisely would have circulated in depth will take place.

Bathing place and enjoy