Zamora information
Lake Sanabria Natural Park
During the Upper Pleistocene age, over 100,000
years ago, an impressive glacier with ice tongues of more than
20 kilometres in length gave rise to what is currently known as
the Lago de Sanabria. Today, its 318 hectares of surface area
and depth reaching 51 metres make it the largest lake in the Iberian
peninsula.
Surrounding the Lago de Sanabria, there are abundant forests formed
by Pyrenean oaks. There are also interesting clumps of holly and
yew trees while birch trees and alders are plentiful in the banks
of the rivers that descend from the summits or link the different
lakes contained within the natural park.
On gaining altitude, the woods are substituted with thickets of
escabon, buckthorn and heather. In Sanabria there are also endemic
species: the Carqueixa Sanabresa and the Geranium bohenicum. In
terms of fauna, they are worth of mention the golden eagle, wolf,
roe deer, Bocage's lizard and Seoane's viper.
In addition to is high environmental value, the Parque Natural
de Sanabria offers valuable historic, artistic and cultural resources.
Along with the interesting Romanesque monastery of Santa María,
situated in San Martín de Castañeda -headquarters
of the Natural Park Interpretation Centre-, especially notable
is the collection of urban monuments in Puebla de Sanabria.
Source: Web server of Instituto de Turismo de España, TURESPAÑA.