Continental karst caves of mainland Spain

Environmental conditions

In Spain, these cavities are generally associated with Jurassic and Cretaceous carbonate massifs or Upper Miocene and Pliocene carbonate platforms, although they also occur occasionally in other lithologies.

Distribution and scope

In mainland Spain, the technical source highlights the joint presence of continental and coastal cavities in Cantabria, Asturias, Castile and León, Andalusia, Castile-La Mancha, and the Valencian Community; it does not give a separate distribution for continental cavities.

Structure

Karst cavities are classified as horizontal or vertical developments, inland or coastal caves, and epigenic, hypogenic, or mixed cavities according to the hydrogeological relationship of their waters.

Ecological processes

Rock dissolution, often guided by faults, fractures, or differences in solubility, forms karst cavities; in addition, the Alpine long-eared bat has been recorded hibernating in icy caves in the Pyrenees at elevations above 2,100 m.