Espigüete

The Espigüete Peak (Spanish: Pico Espigüete) (2450 m) is one of the highest elevations of the Montaña Palentina (Spain), in the foothills of the Cantabrian mountain range (Fuentes Carrionas massif) and, despite not being the highest, it is its most characteristic peak. It is located in the municipality of Velilla del Río Carrión.[1]

Espigüete
Highest point
Elevation2,450 m (8,040 ft)
Prominence474 m (1,555 ft)
Coordinates42°56′41″N 04°47′46″W
Geography
Palencia-loc
Location in the Province of Palencia.
LocationFlag of Castile and León Castile and León

Bandera de la provincia de Palencia1 Province of Palencia

Bandera de León Province of León
CountryBandera de España Spain
Geology
Mountain typeLimestone
Climbing
First ascent1854
Normal routeSouth, from Cardaño de Abajo

Location

It is located next to the town of Cardaño de Abajo, in the municipality of Velilla del Río Carrión, within the Montaña Palentina Natural Park, 26 km from Guardo and 126 km from Palencia. Its western foothills belong to the town of Valverde de la Sierra (León).[1]

Characteristics

Main information

It is a pyramidal limestone mass, visible from a distance due to its isolation from any other peak. The south face has smooth reliefs while the north face has vertical walls. Due to its composition, it suffers variations in its appearance depending on the season and lighting, being covered with snow most of the winter.[2]

On 27 June 2000, the declaration of the Fuentes Carrionas y Fuente Cobre-Montaña Palentina Natural Park was published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado —revised on 28 May 2010—[3] to which Espigüete belongs. It is one of the highest peaks of the natural park (2450 m), characterized by peaks such as Curavacas (2528) and by the valley bottoms, with a difference in altitude that can reach over 1000 meters.[4]

Geomorphology
Espigüete contemplated from Curavacas peak
The northeast face of Espigüete, from Cardaño de Arriba.
Southeast view of Espigüete reflected in the Camporredondo Reservoir.

Its limits are established by morpho-structural features: to the north, the thrust fault that directs the waters of the Arroyo Mazobres; to the east, the synclinorium complex that sinks its roots in the Arroyo de las Lomas; to the west, it is drawn against the metamorphic slopes of Caladillos and Carrascal; and to the south, its margin is formed by the prolonged slate and sandstone spines of the Cervera Formation.[5] Despite its appearance, the Espigüete has numerous hollows in its interior, where there are huge canyons with subway rivers and lakes, deep pits and caves that make it a real treasure for speleologists.

Climatology
Espigüete
Climate chart (explanation)
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
 
 
112
 
 
−1
−4
 
 
92
 
 
5
−3
 
 
78
 
 
7
−3
 
 
97
 
 
15
1
 
 
79
 
 
19
5
 
 
59
 
 
22
9
 
 
31
 
 
25
12
 
 
6
 
 
27
10
 
 
45
 
 
22
9
 
 
105
 
 
14
4
 
 
106
 
 
8
−1
 
 
85
 
 
3
−4
█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
█ Precipitation totals in mm
Source: [6]
Imperial conversion
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
4.4
 
 
30
25
 
 
3.6
 
 
41
27
 
 
3.1
 
 
45
27
 
 
3.8
 
 
59
34
 
 
3.1
 
 
66
41
 
 
2.3
 
 
72
48
 
 
1.2
 
 
77
54
 
 
0.2
 
 
81
50
 
 
1.8
 
 
72
48
 
 
4.1
 
 
57
39
 
 
4.2
 
 
46
30
 
 
3.3
 
 
37
25
█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
█ Precipitation totals in inches
View of Espigüete from La Cerezuela range.

Flora

It is a transition area in which taxa typical of central and northern Europe are mixed with others characteristic of the Mediterranean world.[7] The climatic conditions make it lack vegetation, developing only some lichen and small plants characteristic of the high mountains. Among the latter it is necessary to highlight a variety of sempervivum that only occurs in this peak, discovered in 1935 by the eminent botanist Paul Leon Giuseppi, and named in his honor Sempervivum Giuseppii.

History

The geologist and naturalist Casiano de Prado is recorded as the first to climb it, in 1854, and so did Aymar de Saint-Saud in 1892, on one of his visits to Picos de Europa.[8][9]

References
  1. "Espigüete : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost". www.summitpost.org. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  2. Palencia, Somos (31 August 2020). "Pico Espigüete, la pirámide blanca de la Montaña Palentina | Ruta y track". Somos Palencia (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  3. "Ley 5/2010, de 28 de mayo, de modificación de la Ley 4/2000, de 27 de junio, de declaración del Parque Natural de Fuentes Carrionas y Fuente Cobre-Montaña Palentina (Palencia)". BOE (in Spanish). 3 June 2010. pp. 50653–50656. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  4. Natura 2000 (October 2015). "Fuentes Carrionas y Fuente Cobre-Montaña Palentina". Natura 2000: ES4140011 (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  5. Lagunilla, Emilio Vicente. Asociación Cultural La Escalera (ed.). "Curavacas y Espigüete. Hitos alpinos de la Montaña Palentina. GUÍA DE ESCALADAS Y ASCENSIÓNES" (PDF). Tente Lagunilla. Spain. ISBN 978-84-09-07396-2.
  6. NASA. "Browse dataset index". Wayback Machine (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 6 March 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  7. Allende Álvarez, Fernando (2006). "Las comunidades vegetales sobre calizas del macizo del Espigüete (Leon-Palencia)" (PDF). Serie Geográfica (in Spanish) (13): 81–97. ISSN 1136-5277. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  8. Marín, Esther (1 June 2015). "Medio siglo en lo más alto de la cima". Diario Palentino (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  9. "Un espía en el Espigüete. La expedición de Saint Saud" (PDF). Grandes Espacios (in Spanish). No. 175. March 2012. pp. 60–69.
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