Читать книгу The Sierras of Extremadura. 32 half and full-day walks in western Spain's hills онлайн

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South of these mountains lies the Tajo river basin with its main tributaries: the Tiétar, Alagón, Almonte and Ibor. The Tajo is the longest river in the Iberian peninsula.

Strung across the middle of Extremadura are the Montes de Toledo with numerous smaller granite sierras. Some, such as the Sierra de San Pedro in the west, are low hills rather than mountains, but the Sierra de Montánchez reaches a respectable 994m.

The mountains in the Sierra de las Villuercas are not granite; their geological structure is mainly composed of slates and quartzites and the walking experience is very different there. The sierras run parallel to each other, largely ruling out circular walks. The Almonte and Ibor rivers, which flow north to feed the Tajo, rise in Las Villuercas while the Ruecas and Guadalupe rivers are tributaries of the Guadiana river to the south.

The Guadiana is also fed by the Zújar and Matachel tributaries and forms part of the border between the two provinces. As it flows west and turns south it becomes the border with Portugal. The river feeds the Orellana canal system, which irrigates thousands of hectares of agricultural land producing maize, rice and tomatoes among other crops.