page_title: Sierras of Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama Natural Park
section_title: Topography
hierarchical_section_title: Sierras of Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama Natural Park / Location / Topography
caption_attribution_description: Sierra de Alhama
context_page_description: The Sierras of Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama Natural Park is a protected area in the Spanish provinces of Málaga and Granada. It contains the Sierra de Tejeda and Sierra de Almijara mountains.
  The park is mountainous and is partly covered by pine forests at the lower levels, while typical Mediterranean vegetation is found higher up.
  There is a large number of endemic species.
context_section_description: The Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama Mountains extend north from the Mediterrean coast, with peaks over 1,500 metres (4,900 ft).
  The mountains contain deep ravines, steep slopes, sharp ridges and rugged crags.
  The mountains form a natural barrier between the two provinces.
  The peak of Tejeda (La Maroma) is 2,065 metres (6,775 ft) high, and commands dramatic views of the surrounding mountains and the Mediterranean coast.
  Other peaks are Cerro del Lucero at 1,779 metres (5,837 ft) and Navachica at 1,832 metres (6,010 ft).
  All of the park has the calcareous formations of the Subbética region, with marbles, shales, phyllites, etc.
  The area is rich in quartzite and gneiss over 300 million years old. The most common rock in the Sierra Tejeda is limestone.
  The Sierra Almijara holds one of the Spain's main sources of dolomitic marble.
  The marble gives white and gray tones to the ridges and ravines.
  The limestone has been eaten out by water to create a maze of fissures, depressions and caves, including the deep canyon of the Chíllar River, the Polje of Zafarraya, the Caves of Nerja and La Fájara cave.
  The Caves of Nerja (Cueva de Nerja), with an entrance just south of the park, is a National Monument, as is the Sima de la Maroma (Maroma Gap).
  The rivers and streams that drain the sierras to the south feed the Río Guaro, Río Vélez, Río Algarrobo, Río Torrox, Río Chíllar, and the Río Verde in Almuñécar to the east.
  To the west, some of the streams feed the Arroyo de la Madre, which is lost in the Polje de Zafarraya.
  To the north, the rivers ultimately feed the Guadalquivir, whose main basins are those of the Río Alhama, Río Cacín, Río Añales and Río Cebollón.
  The Río Grande and Río Granada feed the Los Bermejales Reservoir.
  The rivers and streams descend rapidly down the mountain slopes, with spectacular waterfalls such as Los Árboles Petrificados (The Petrified Trees), where limestone (calcium carbonate) in the water fossilized ancient logs. 
  Elsewhere the waters have carved dramatic gorges, called Cahorros in the region.
  The principal peaks are:
  "Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara y Alhama", Hiking Iberia, retrieved 2019-08-24
caption: Sierra de Alhama
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