thumb|A view of the national park with the ruined Monfragüe castle in the foreground

Monfragüe (Spanish: Parque Nacional de Monfragüe, or simply Monfragüe ) is a Spanish national park noted for its birdlife. It is situated in the center of a triangle formed by Plasencia, Trujillo and the city of Cáceres within the province of Cáceres. Monfragüe is also a comarca (county, with no administrative role) of Extremadura, western Spain.

Location

Monfragüe is a comarca in Spain, i.e. a county, with no administrative role in Extremadura, western Spain.

Monfragüe is famous for its national park by the same name, which is noted for its bird-life. It is situated in the center of a triangle formed by Plasencia, Trujillo and the city of Cáceres within the province of Cáceres. The park runs from east to west along the valley of the River Tagus or Tajo. which cut through a long mountainous ridge, and created a rock face, the Peña Falcon, 'falcon rock' on the western side. On the eastern side is the Castle of Monfragüe. The River Tietar enters the park from the north-east and joins the Tagus just to the east of Peña Falcon. The only village in the park is Villareal de San Carlos (population 28).

The park occupies an area of 18,118 hectares.

History

The area's and the Park's name comes from the Latin Monsfragorum, "monte fragoso" (Spanish) which means "lush mountain".

Roman period

Remains of Roman roads, bridges, fountains and gravestones can be found, since the park is close to the Ruta de la Plata (Silver Route). A section of the route, which goes down to the bridge of the Cardinal from Villarreal, can be considered as a vestige of Roman road. As in almost all Spanish geography, valleys provide the layout for the road. Remains of watchtowers exist, in Cerro Gimio for example. "Chaquetalarga" (Joaquín Ventas Cintas) and "the French" (Pedro Díaz Monje),

In 1966, construction of the dam at Torrejón el Rubio, and the Alcántara Dam in 1969 altered the landscape irreversibly, as it submerged the wild beauty of the Tagus riverbanks along with its ecological and ethnological wealth.

After twenty-five years Monfragüe became a national park by law on 2 March 2007.

Biodiversity

Habitas in the park include extensive dense scrub, small oak woodlands, and numerous cliffs and rock faces.

The land is mainly used for traditional, low-intensive farming. However, there were two major changes in the years 1960–70: the river Tagus was dammed, affecting its course through the park and in 1970 brutal reforestation with non-indigenous eucalyptus and pine began. For a planned but never built paper industry in Navalmoral de la Mata many hectares of the Park were desolated and irreversibly altered by terraces built with heavy machinery. The Sierra de Miravete and ravines of the streams Malvecino and Barbaón received a hard blow and important thickets of the Mediterranean forest disappeared.

Monfrague is an outstanding site for raptors, with more than 15 regular breeding species. including the world's largest colony of cinereous vultures (over 300 pairs), Deer and wild boar live in the park.

<gallery mode=packed>

File:Monfrague pan.jpg|National Park of Monfragüe, in Extremadura. View from the Castle.

File:Monfrague.JPG|Griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) in the rocks of Monfragüe.

File:Monfrague_1.jpg|Griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) in the rocks of Monfragüe.

Parcu Monfragüe.JPG|Bridge over the Tagus River as it passes through the national park.

Jara en flor.jpg|Jara in bloom in Monfragüe.

Berrea-2.jpg|Deer during the 2008 roar.

Abejamonfrague.jpg|Bee feeding on nectar in the Monfragüe National Park.

20110308 monfrague 030.jpg|The Tagus River as it passes through the park.

Quercus ilex.001 - Monfrague.JPG|Evergreen oaks ( Quercus ilex ) in the dehesa de Monfragüe.

Salto del Gitano y mirador, Parque Nacional de Monfragüe.jpg|El Salto del Gitano and the lookout for birds.

Puente del Cardenal, Monfragüe.jpg|Puente del Cardenal, Monfragüe. It is only visible when the level of the Tagus River is very low.

</gallery>

References

  • Official site
  • Official site Ambiente, Gobierno de Extremadura
  • Magazine about Monfragüe Reddeparquesnacionales.com
  • Website about Monfrague National Park