The relief of Spain is very diverse and the result of a multitude of geological processes that have taken place over time. When it comes to mountain ranges, diversity also dominates our territory. In the Canary Islands, which are home to the highest peak in Spain (Mount Teide), the mountains are volcanic. For this reason, in addition to being the highest mountain in Spain, Teide is also the highest peak of all the emerged lands of the Atlantic Ocean and the third highest volcano on Earth counting from its base on the ocean floor.
If we go to the peninsula, its relief is very determined by the plateau: a plain raised above sea level by an average of 660 meters and whose oldest remains emerge in the west. However, it is not precisely in the mountain ranges that surround the two sub-plateaus where we will find the highest peaks in the territory, but to reach the highest peaks we will have to head both south, in the Sierra Nevada, and north, in the Pyrenees.
The Penibética mountain range is formed by Paleozoic materials and it is there where the Sierra Nevada is located , which is home to some of the highest peaks of the Iberian Peninsula (Mulhacen, Veleta and Alcazaba), in addition to being a National Park due to its geological and biological uniqueness.
The Pyrenees are an elongated and compact mountain range, located between Spain and France. It has three parts: the axial zone, made of Paleozoic materials, is the highest (they exceed 3000 meters); the pre-Pyrenees, to the south of the previous one, have softer forms and are two parallel alignments to the axial zone; and the middle depression, between the interior and exterior mountain ranges of the pre-Pyrenees. In the Pyrenees there are some of the greatest colossi of our geography, especially in the Aragonese part.
Below we offer you a photo gallery with the 15 highest peaks in our geography. As you can see, except for Teide, they all belong to the Sierra Nevada and the Pyrenees. To find representatives of other mountain systems, we should advance further in the list, until reaching, for example, Torre Cerredo, in Picos de Europa, and with a height of 2,648 meters above sea level, or Almanzor, in the Central System and with 2 591 m.
(Source: National Geographic Institute)
