Where climate shapes the landscape
SOUTHERN MOUNTAIN RANGES OF ÁLAVA
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">The mountainous alignment of the Cantabrian and Codés ranges stretches from west to east in the southern Álava, constituting a barrier that neatly separates the Mediterranean and Atlantic worlds. <strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">This area, integrated into the Natura 2000 Network through its declaration as a ZEC zone</strong>, is home to a small geographical area with biological communities that are part of the Natura 2000 network.aacute;fico biological communities of a very diverse nature, reflecting the climatic dissymmetry between the northern and southern slopes of these mountains.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; margin: 12.0pt 0cm 12.0pt 0cm;">The shade is covered with dense beech and gall oak forests, where species such as the European bee-eater or the marsh tit reach their southern distribution limit in the Basque Country. On the southern slope, with greater sunshine and more affected by fires, the deciduous forests give way to holm oaks and sclerophyllous scrubland.