Spanish Coastal Ranges and Peninsular Landforms

The Catalan Coastal Mountain Range

The Catalan Coastal Mountain Range is a transformation of the eastern Pyrenees. It is separated from these by faults that have resulted in a well-preserved volcanic region with over forty cones. The northern half of the ridge is formed by Paleozoic materials, remnants of the old Catalan-Balearic massif uplifted during the Hercynian orogeny and later affected by the Alpine orogeny.

The Betic Cordillera

The Betic Cordillera shows great geological complexity. It is structured into two mountain ranges separated by depressions:

The Penibética Mountain Range

Located along the coast, the Penibética was formed in the Tertiary period by the rejuvenation of old Paleozoic materials from the Betic-Rifeño massif. Its relief contains the highest peaks of the Iberian Peninsula in the Sierra Nevada.

The Subbética Mountain Range

The Subbética is located inland. It was formed in the Tertiary period by the folding of materials deposited by the sea in the Betic geosyncline as the African plate approached the Iberian plate. These materials were alternately hard and soft, so that when folded, thrust sheets and nappes originated.

The Intrabética Depression

The Intrabética depression, situated between the Penibética and Subbética ridges, is fragmented into several small depressions. It is filled with Tertiary materials that give rise to a landscape of badlands.

Peninsular Coastal Relief

Coastal Landforms

• Capes (Cabos): Projections from the coast into the deep sea.
• Gulfs: Deep inlets where the sea enters the coast.
• Cliffs: Coastal areas that meet the sea with a steep slope. In these areas, marine erosion creates caves in the lower sections.
• Beaches: Outstanding flat expanses of sand, small pebbles, or gravel located at sea level.
• Marine Erosion Platforms: Shallow platforms parallel to the coast that have been raised above sea level.
• Rias: Inward coastal features resulting from the sea's invasion of the final stretch of a river valley.
• Marshes: Mudflats formed in sheltered bays, which are filled with sediment supplied by the rivers that run through them.
• Coastal Spits (Arrows): Sandbars that extend rectilinearly from the sandy coastline into the interior of a bay.
• Coastal Lagoons: Saltwater lagoons separated from the sea by a cordon of sand that closes off a bay.
• Tombolos: Sandbars linking rocky islets to the coast.
• Deltas: Outgoing coastal formations created when a river contributes more sediment than the sea can redistribute.
• Dunes: Mounds of sand typical of sandy coastlines.