Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park (Parque nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido) is a National Park classified as IUCN Category II, located in the Pyrenees. A National Park was first established in the Ordesa Valley in 1918. In 1982, the protected area was expanded to include the entire region, covering 156.08 square kilometers.
In 1997, the park was added to UNESCO’s Biosphere Reserve of Ordesa-Viñamala. The same year, it was also included in the cross-border Pyrénées-Mont Perdu World Heritage Site due to its striking geological formations.
Geology
The national park was established to protect the high mountain areas of Monte Perdido and the Pyrenees. The area has a lot of limestone, which forms natural features like karren, sinkholes, and caves. The limestone was formed during the Cretaceous and Eocene periods. Tectonic forces have created deep canyons. During the Quaternary period, repeated glaciations shaped cirques and large U-shaped valleys.
Climate
The climate is usually Pyrenean. The change in elevation from 750 meters at the entrance of the Añisclo canyon to 3,355 meters at Monte Perdido, along with the direction each valley faces, causes big changes in humidity and temperature between day and night. Thermal inversions are shown in how vegetation is arranged in layers. There are changing patterns of valley and mountain winds.
Flora
At elevations between 1,000 and 1,700 meters, large forests grow. These forests include beeches (Fagus sylvatica), Abies alba, pines (Pinus sylvestris), oaks (Quercus subpyrenaica), and fewer birches (Betula pendula), ashes (Fraxinus excelsior), and willows (Salix angustifolia). At higher elevations, up to 1,700 meters, mountain pine (Pinus uncinata) is the main tree. From 700 to 1,800 meters, boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) bushes grow. In the high meadows between 1,700 and 3,000 meters, many endemic plants grow. These include Borderea pyrenaica, Campanula cochleariifolia, Ramonda myconi, Silene borderei, Androsace cylindrica, Pinguicula longifolia, and Petrocoptis crassifolia. Edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum) is a symbol of the National Park.
Fauna
The most important animal in the Park was the bucardo, also called the Pyrenean ibex, which died out in January 2000 even though people tried to save it. The Pyrenean chamois is a kind of goat antelope. Other animals in the area include the alpine marmot, boar, and the Pyrenean desman, also known as the water-mole (Galemys pyrenaicus). Birds of prey such as the golden eagle, bearded vulture, griffon vulture, hawks, and the Eurasian eagle-owl also live there.
Protected status
Many famous people have enjoyed the places in this region and have praised the area's qualities. Luciano Briet, Soler i Santaló, and Lucas Mallada y Pueyo helped raise the area's reputation and earned it special protection status.
An area covering 21 square kilometres in the Ordesa Valley was named a National Park on 16 August 1918 by a Royal Decree. On 13 July 1982, the park's size was increased to its current 156.08 square kilometres, and its official name was changed to Parque nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido.
Gallery
- Cirque de Soaso, including Cilindro de Marboré, Monte Perdido, and Soum de Ramond (from left to right)
- North side of La Brèche de Roland
- Northwest side of Cirque of Soaso
- Cirque de Cotatuero
- Arazas River waterfall in the Ordesa Valley
- Entrance to the Ordesa Valley near the Arazas River
- Cirque of Soaso and Horse Tail (Cola del Caballo)
- Entrance to the Ordesa Valley from Torla
- Punta Tobacor (2,779 meters)
- Trail inside the park in the Ordesa Valley