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SIERRA MORENA, THE

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Originally appearing in Volume V25, Page 57 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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SIERRA MORENA, THE , a range of mountains in See also:

southern See also:Spain. The Sierra Morena constitutes the largest See also:section of the See also:mountain See also:system called the See also:Cordillera Marianica (anc. Monies mariani), which also includes a number of See also:minor See also:Spanish ranges, together with the mountains of southern See also:Portugal. The mean See also:elevation of the range is about 2500 ft., but its breadth is certainly not less than 40 M. It extends eastward as far as the See also:steppe region of See also:Albacete, and westward to the valley of the See also:lower See also:Guadiana. Its continuity is frequently interrupted, especially in the See also:west; in the eastern and See also:middle portions it is composed of numerous irregularly disposed ridges. Many of these See also:bear distinctive names; thus the easternmost and loftiest is called the Sierra de Alcaraz (J9oo ft.), while some of the component ridges in the extreme west are classed together as the Sierras de Aracena. The See also:great breadth of the Sierra Morena See also:long rendered it a formidable barrier between See also:Andalusia and thenorth; as such it has played an important See also:part in the social, economic and military See also:history of Spain. Its configuration and See also:hydrography are also important from a See also:geographical point of view, partly because it separates the See also:plateau region of See also:Castile and See also:Estremadura from the Andalusian See also:plain and the See also:highlands of the Sierra See also:Nevada system, partly because it forms the See also:water-See also:shed between two great See also:rivers, the upper Guadiana on the See also:north and the See also:Guadalquivir on the See also:south. Parts of the Sierra Morena are See also:rich in minerals; the central region yields See also:silver, See also:mercury and See also:lead, while the Sierras de Aracena contain the celebrated See also:copper mines of Tharsis and Rio Tinto (q.v.).

End of Article: SIERRA MORENA, THE

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