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Laguna Negra y Circos Glaciares de Urbión Natural Park
The Sierra de Urbión was designated a Natural Area in 1991 and subsequently became the Laguna Negra y Circos Glaciares de Urbión Natural Park in 2010. The area in question covers 4,617 hectares in the municipalities of Duruelo de la Sierra, Covaleda and Vinuesa, Soria.
Furthermore, it forms part of the Natura 2000 Network as a Special Protection Area for Birds (SPA) and Site of Community Importance (SCI). The Sierra de Urbión y Cebollera is of note for its population of short-toed snake eagles, golden eagles, peregrine falcons and grey partridges.
The Sierra de Urbión is characterised by a high altitude, high rainfall and a legacy of Quaternary glaciers, which together create a distinctive and unique landscape. The area includes several lagoons of glacial origin, which are included in the Regional Catalogue of Wetlands of Castilla y León. These are the Black Lagoon, the Long Lagoon, the Frozen Lagoon, the Mansegosa Lagoon and the Hornillo Lagoon.
The landscape provides clear evidence of glacial activity, with extensive moraines formations and succession of deposit lines indicating the different levels of glacial advance.
Below an altitude of 1,500 metres, the European red pine (Pinus sylvestris) is the dominant species, forming a forest mass that almost completely covers the Revinuesa and Duero valleys. This area is the largest wooded area in the Iberian Peninsula. As altitude increases, other species such as beech, scrub and grassland adapted to the long periods of snowfall and strong, cold winds develop, giving rise to the presence of endemic species such as the armeria (Armeria losae) and the alpine daisy (Leucanthemopsis alpina).
It is also worth noting the presence of Rosalia alpina, a beetle typically associated with beech forests and protected by European legislation. Other notable species found in the area include the green lizard, the asp viper and the marbled newt. Visitors to these lands will also can observe deer, roe deer and wild boar, as well as some populations of foxes and weasels.