Orography

Natural Park of Fuentes Carrionas and Fuente Cobre-Montaña Palentina

Formerly known as the Natural Park of Fuentes Carrionas and Fuente Cobre-Montaña Palentina, this is a protected area located along the northern border of the province of Palencia, bordering with Cantabria and the province of León, and is part of the Cantabrian Mountain Range.

The park is over 78,360 hectares in size and contains the headwaters of the Carrión River in Fuentes Carrionas and the Pisuerga River in Fuente del Cobre, which was the reason for its original name "Fuentes Carrionas and Fuente del Cobre Natural Park".

Inside the park are the Covarrés glaciers, Curavacas (2,525m.), Las Lomas, Espigüete and Valdecebollas peaks; El Cobre and Sel de la Fuente caves; and valleys and lagoons such as Lago de las Lomas, Lago de Ves, and Pozo Curavacas.

There are also large forests of oak, beech, birch, holm oak, and junipers including the Tosande Grove, one of the most important in Western Europe; the Velilla Pine Forest, one of the few natural pine forests in the mountain range and the Juniper Grove of Peñas Lampas, the northernmost formation of juniper.

The wildlife in the area includes endangered species such as the brown bear and the capercaillie and native species such as the Cantabrian chamois and the piornal hare, as well as deer, wild boar, wolves, otters, golden eagles, and griffon vultures.