The New International Encyclopædia/Sierra Nevada (Spain)

SIERRA NEVADA, nắ-vä'Dȧ (Snowy Range). A mountain range of Southern Spain, extending from the centre of the Province of Granada about 60 miles eastward into the Province of Almeria, its crest being about 28 miles from the Mediterranean coast (Map: Spain, D 4). It forms a part of the mountain system separating the valley of the Guadalquivir from the southern coast, and is the highest elevation of the Iberian Peninsula. Its greatest height is near the western end, where the peak of Mulahacén has an altitude of 11,420 feet, and that of Veleta 11,385 feet. Eastward it merges gradually into a lower plateau region. It sends out numerous spurs inclosing deep valleys, and on the north falls in wild and rocky precipices toward the Jenil River, on whose banks lies the city of Granada. The range consists mainly of mica slate, and though the low valleys are covered with a rich vegetation, the bulk of the mountain consists of naked rocks. It is covered with snow a great part of the year, and on the Veleta there are permanent glaciers, the southernmost of Europe.