Picos de Europa Mountains

The Picos de Europa rise above the northern coast of Iberia in three great limestone massifs. Rivers have cut deep gorges between them, most strikingly the Cares, whose narrow course separates the western and central massifs. Ice also shaped these mountains: glaciers excavated hollows and left deposits in the valleys, while the lakes of Enol and Ercina remain among the traces of that colder past. The steep peaks and ravines make a formidable barrier between the Cantabrian coast and the lands to the south.