Page 37 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Spain

A POR TR AIT OF SP AIN  35

Mountains Volcanic Landscapes
1 Picos de Europa pp112–13 q Caldera de Taburiente p536
2 Ordesa y Monte Perdido pp236–7 w Teide pp542–3
3 Aigüestortes y Estany de Sant e Timanfaya pp552–3
Maurici p215
4 Sierra Nevada p491 VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Wetlands All but one of the national parks
are managed by the Ministerio
5 Tablas de Daimiel p403 de Medio Ambiente. Tel 915 46
National Parks 6 Doñana pp470–71 81 11. ∑ magrama.gob.es/es/
red-parques-nacionales
Mountains Parque Nacional d’Aigüestortes
Wetlands Islands y Estany de Sant Maurici is
Islands 7 Archipiélago de Cabrera p521 admin istered jointly with
Woods and Forests 8 Illa de Ons p99 Catalonia’s Department of
Environment. Tel 973 69 61 89.
Volcanic Landscapes Most of Spain’s national parks
Woods and Forests
have visitors’ centres, often
9 Cabañeros p391 called Centros de Interpretació.
0 Garajonay p537
Woods and Forests
Deciduous broad-leaved forests grow in the northwest of
Spain, and stands of Aleppo and Scots pine cover many
mountainous areas. On the central plateau there
are stretches of open woodland of evergreen
holm oak and cork oak in the Parque
Nacional de Cabañeros. Dense, lush
laurisilva woodland grows in the Parque
Nacional de Garajonay, on La Gomera,
one of the smaller Canary Islands.
Black vultures
are the largest
birds of prey Hedgehogs, common
in Europe, with in woodlands, root
an enormous among fallen leaves
wingspan of and grass to find
over 2.5 m (8 ft). worms and slugs. Parque Nacional de Garajonay

Volcanic Landscapes
Three very different parks protect parts of the Rabbits are highly
Canary Islands’ amazing volcanic scenery. Caldera de opportunistic, quickly
Taburiente on La Palma is a volcanic crater surrounded colonizing areas in which
by woods. Mount Teide in Tenerife has unique alpine they can burrow.
flora, and Lanzarote’s Timanfaya In the absence
is composed of barren but of predators,
atmospheric lava fields. populations
may increase,
damaging fragile
ecosystems.

Canaries
belong to the
finch family of
songbirds. The
popular canary has
been bred from the
wild serin, native
Colonizing plant species, Mount Teide (Tenerife) to the Canaries.

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