Valsain Mountains
The Valsain Mountains are located in the Valsain Valley, on the northern slope of the Sierra de Guadarrama and in the municipality of Real Sitio de San Ildefonso, belonging to the province of Segovia.
They are formed by two mountains, Pinar and Matas, both of public utility and belonging to the National Parks Autonomous Agency, which manages it through the Centro Montes y Aserradero de Valsaín.
Three areas for recreation and dissemination of natural values have been enabled within its boundaries. These are: Boca de Asno—which has an interpretation center—Los Asientos, and El Robledo. The Centro Nacional de Educación Ambiental also has its facilities there.
File:Valle_de_Valsaín1.JPG|center|thumb|400x400px|Valsain Valley as seen from Valsain.
File:Siete_picos_y_la_mujer_muerta.JPG|center|thumb|400x400px|Siete Picos and La Mujer Muerta. These are two areas of the Valsain Mountains.
File:La_Gallarza_views.jpg|center|thumb|400x400px|Peñalara and north face of Cuerda Larga seen from La Gallarza viewpoint.
Description
The Valsain Valley is located on the northern slope of the Sierra de Guadarrama crowned by the passes of Navacerrada and La Fuenfría, known as the historical pass of the sierra. The Sierra de Guadarrama covers it on the east side, while the mountain range of La Mujer Muerta covers it on the west. Between them, the valley extends with an orientation from south to north, an average width of 6 km and an approximate length of 9 km. The altitude of the area varies between 1100 masl and the 2125 of Siete Picos. It is crossed by the rivers Eresma, Acebeda, and Peces. The soils are acid based on granite and gneiss.The surface occupied by the Valsain Mountains is 10 672 ha, of which 7622 are of Monte Pinar and 3046 of Monte Matas, both occupied by different tree species depending on the altitude. Scots pine is predominant and has received the nickname Pino de Valsaín. It produces excellent wood and has been exploited for a long time, being the economic engine of the valley.
The environmental richness is very high as this is an area of little human activity and historically protected as a reserve and hunting ground by the Spanish monarchy. There is a great diversity of animal species, especially birds and plants.
The valley and the mountains are crossed by the CL-601 regional road that connects Segovia with Madrid through the Navacerrada pass. Another series of asphalted roads and highways cross the area too; they are usually closed to vehicular traffic. Among these roads, the road that crosses the Fuenfría pass stands out, a historic pass through the mountain range that has been adapted over time to the different types of roads, from the mere prehistoric blacksmith road, the Roman road to the asphalted road. This pass has been closed to traffic and replaced by the pass of Navacerrada first and the Alto del León—and the corresponding tunnels—later.
Geology and landscape
Like the rest of the Sistema Central, the materials that form the soil of the valley in which the Valsain Mountains are located are of granite and gneiss origin. They are rigid materials that give the soil an outstanding acidity. These materials were broken following a series of fracture lines that formed the pits and mountain massifs.The physiognomy of the mountains is structured in three landscape units that are organized depending on altitude, orientation, soil, water and prevailing winds, among other factors, where human intervention is one of the most important. These units are: the mountains, the valleys, and the ramps.
Hydrography
The main water courses that run through the Valsain Valley—and with it its mountains—are the rivers Eresma, Acebeda and Peces, all of them in the upper part of their basins. These rivers are formed by the sum of a multitude of small streams that flow down from the mountains surrounding the valley. Annual rainfall usually ranges from 885 mm in the lowlands to 1170 mm in the highlands. It is very often in the form of snow, especially on the summits of the mountains where snow can be seen well into the spring.The Eresma river is formed by the streams that flow down the northern slopes of Siete Picos, Alto del Telégrafo and Minguete, on its left side and the stream that flows down from Puerto de Cotos.
The Acebeda river is formed by the waters that flow down the slopes of Montón de Trigo and La Pinareja.
The Peces river runs along the eastern edge of the Monte del Pinar.
Vegetation
The predominant tree species of this area is the pinus sylvestris or Scots pine, that occupies the upper part of the mountains, above 1200 meters. Further down, the Pyrenean oak can be found, and in the lower area there are patches of holm oak. On the banks of the rivers there are formations of gallery forests, and we can also find holly, yew, poplar, sour cherry, ash and maple trees, which are combined with the shrubs and bushes such as broom, rock rose steppe, juniper, and heather. The vegetation is complemented by meadows where cattle and horses graze. Therefore, we find a diversity that goes from the oak and holm oak groves at the bottom of the valley to the meadows of the summits.There are 867 catalogued species, of which only 69 are allochthonous and are located in gardens and urbanized spaces.
The main species that exist in the Valsain Mountains are the following:
Scots pine
The Scots pine forms the extensive pine forests that cover most of the mountains. It is located between 1200 and 1900 masl of altitude, this being the forest limit of the area. It reaches an average height of 25 meters and can sometimes exceed 30 meters. In the sunny areas the volume of the canopy is lower than in the shady areas. The undergrowth of the pine forests is usually composed of oak and retama, juniper, broom, and brambles. In the clearings that open up in the pine forests, brambles abound.In the upper parts of the undergrowth there is juniper, broom, nightshade, and wild berries. And in the lower parts, retamas, rowan, blackthorn, hawthorn, heather, hazel, cherry and holly.
Pyrenean oak
The Pyrenean oak occupies the lower part. It is located between 1000 and 1400 meters of altitude. It is very affected by the late and early snowfalls. Many times it plays the role of undergrowth species.In its forests there is an undergrowth composed mainly of steppe, blackthorn, blackthorn, privet, honeysuckle, broom, hawthorn and rose.
Holm oak
Holm oak occupies two small areas in the Valsain Mountains. It is established between the altitudes of 1300 and 1350 meters in the area of the slopes of Cabeza Grande and between 1118 and 1225 meters in the northern wing of Cerro Matabueyes. Its understory is composed of steppe and similar species.Grasslands
There are different types of grasslands. All of them are dotted with thorny woody species such as Rosa sp., Crataegus monogyna, Prunus spinosa, if heavily razed; and by shrubs such as steppe, but also by scotch broom or broom.The grasslands are:
- Nardus: They are established above 1300 and 1400 meters of altitude, above the pine forest level. They are meadows composed of Nardus stricta accompanied by Festuca rubra, F. indigesta, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Lotus corniculatus, Trifolium pratense and Trifolium repens. They have a high production but poor bromatological quality. They are frequented by wildlife and equine livestock.
- Montanan grazing lands: Between 1100 and 1300 meters of altitude, in hydrically poor soils, these continuous pastures are used by cattle and horses. These meadows can also be seen in oak and pine forest clearings. The most frequent species are Festuca elegans, F. ampla, Bromus rigidus, B. hordaceus, B. diandus, Poa bulbosa, Aira praecox, Lolium perenne, Lotus corniculatus, Medicago sativa, Ornithopus perpusillus, Phleum pratense, Plantago lanceolata, Trifolium strictum and T. campestre.
- Siliceous grazing lands: These meadows of continuous pasture are used for sheep and cattle grazing due to their bromatological quality and good grazing characteristics. They are composed of Poa bulbosa, Trifolium subterraneum, Bromus hordaceus, Lupinus angustifolius, Eryngium tenue, Ornithopus compressus, Medicago rigidula and Vulpia bromoides.
- Vallicar: This is a grassland that is formed when the grazing lands are enclosed. They are typical of lowland areas and occur in humid soils. They are used for grazing livestock. They are composed of Vulpia bromoides, Ornithopus compressus, Holcus lanatus, Aira praecox, Arrenatherum album, A. elatius, Briza media, Bromas hordaceus, Cynosorus echinatus, Dactilys glomerata and Trifolium striatum.
Fauna
Among the vertebrates we find the following distribution: