Geographical Background Situated in the north of the Iberian peninsular, the
Asturian country is a complex space whose mountainous nature has, throughout
history, always exercised a decisive influence upon the life of its populace.
Abundant rainfall favoured by prevailing north-west and westerly winds eroded
(apart from uneven areas at over 1,500 metres) a system of deep valleys jammed
between the Cantabrian mountain chain which forms a natural frontier to the
south, and the line of the coast to the north, with a maximum distance between
these two natural frontiers of 80 km. For this reason, throughout all of the
resulting 10, 565 km2 we find an extraordinarily varied conjunction of
landscapes distinguishable by the nature and age of the natural materials which
form them, and also by the extent of human influence upon them, and the
vertical grading of their respective potential vegetations, all of which are
collectively termed the Asturian massit, which is the northern side of the
westernmost sector of the Cantabrian mountain chain. |
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