Montserrat (mountain)

This article is about the mountain. For other uses, see Montserrat (disambiguation).

Montserrat (Catalan pronunciation: [munsəˈrat]) is a multi-peaked mountain range near Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain. It is part of the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range. The main peaks are Sant Jeroni (1,236 m), Montgrós (1,120 m) and Miranda de les Agulles (903 m).[1]

It is well known as the site of the Benedictineabbey , Santa Maria de Montserrat, which hosts the Virgin of Montserrat sanctuary.

"Montserrat" literally means "serrated (like the common handsaw) mountain" in Catalan. It describes its peculiar aspect with a multitude of rock formations that are visible from a great distance. The mountain is composed of strikingly pink conglomerate, a form of sedimentary rock. Montserrat was designated as a National Park in 1987. The Monastery of Montserrat which houses the virgin that gives its name to the monastery is also on the mountain, although it is also known as La Moreneta.[2]

Contents
Access
Hiking and climbing
Geology
Namesakes
References
External links

Access

The Benedictine Abbey can be reached by road, by the Aeri de Montserratcable car , or by the Montserrat Rack Railway. The lower stations of both the rack railway and the cable car can be reached by Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya train from Barcelona's Plaça d'Espanya station. From the abbey, the Funicular de Sant Joanfunicular railway goes up to the top of the mountain, where there are various abandoned hovels in the cliff faces that were previously the abodes of reclusive monks, while the Funicular de la Santa Cova descends to a shrine.

Hiking and climbing

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Geology

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Montserrat is formed of conglomerate that was originally deposited in a fan delta at the margin of the Ebro Basin, part of the foreland basin to the Pyrenees, during the middle Eocene. The conglomerate was derived from the uplifting Catalan Coastal Ranges to the southeast of the basin and the clast type is dominated by Triassicsedimentary rocks . The fan had an original size of between 100–150 square kilometres.[4] The resistance of the Montserrat conglomerate to erosion compared to the rest of the fill of the Ebro Basin explains its current mountainous nature.[5]

The dominant clast lithology in the conglomerate is limestone and the sequence is cemented by calcite. The presence of so much carbonate in the rock has led to the formation of typical karst landforms, such as cave systems and karst towers.[5]

Namesakes

In 1493, Christopher Columbus named the Caribbean island of MontserratSanta Maria de Montserrate , after the Virgin of Montserrat.[6] Again, in 1606, the Spanish expedition of Luis Vaéz de Torres charted Mount Ernest island in the Torres Strait as Santa Maria de Montserrate, due to its relatively high peak.[7]: 83  Also Monserrate is a 3,152 m high mountain that dominates Bogotá's downtown which has a church built in 1650 over the ancient Muisca sacred mountain and that includes a funicular and an aerial lift similar to the ones at Montserrat.

References

  1. Mapa Topogràfic de Catalunya - Institut Cartogràfic de Catalunya
  2. "Las mejores rutas del norte español: Asturias y Cataluña". Vipealo. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  3. Vehslage, Dany; Vehslage, Thorsten (2021). 25 Klettersteige in Europa mit besonderem Charakter (in German) (2nd ed.). pp. 106–109. ISBN978-3-7534-5421-4 .
  4. López-Blanco M.; Marzo M.; Burbank D.W.; Vergés J.; Roca E.; Anadón P.; Piña J. (2000). "Tectonic and climatic controls on the development of foreland fan deltas: Montserrat and Sant Llorenç del Munt systems (Middle Eocene, Ebro Basin, NE Spain)"(PDF) . Sedimentary Geology. 138 (1–4): 17–39. Bibcode:2000SedG..138...17L. doi:10.1016/S0037-0738(00)00142-1.
  5. Guerrero J.; Gutiérrez F.; Gutiérrez M. (2014). Gutiérrez F.; Gutiérrez M. (eds.). Conglomerate Monoliths and Karst in the Ebro Cenozoic Basin, NE Spain. Landscapes and Landforms of Spain. Springer. ISBN978-94-017-8627-0 .
  6. The Complete Guide to National Symbols and Emblems: Volume 2, page 724
  7. Hilder, Brett (1980). The voyage of Torres : the discovery of the southern coastline of New Guinea and Torres Strait by Captain Luis Baéz de Torres in 1606. Hong Kong: University of Queensland Press.