Pre-Pyrenees

Geomorphologic map of Catalonia: Template:Unbulleted list

The Pre-Pyrenees are the foothills of the Pyrenees.

DescriptionEdit

As a mountainous system the Pre-Pyrenees are part of the Pyrenees. They run parallel to the main mountain range in a west to east direction.

On the French side the Pyrenees's slopes descend rather abruptly, thus on the northern side, the Pre-Pyrenees are confined to the Corbières Massif, towards the eastern end of the mountain system.<ref>Christophe Neff : Les Corbières maritimes – forment-elles un étage de végétation méditerranéenne thermophile masqué par la pression humaine ? In: Eric Fouache (Edit.): The Mediterranean World Environment and History. IAG Working Group on Geo-archeology, Symposium Proceedings. Environmental Dynamics and History in Mediterranean Areas, Paris, Université de Paris – Sorbonne 24 – 26 avril 2002. Paris, 2003, 191 – 202, (Elsevier France, Template:ISBN).</ref> The Massif de Plantaurel further west deserves mention as well, although not as clearly a foothill.

On the Iberian side, however, the picture is very different: a large and complex system of foothill ranges stretches from Navarre, across northern Aragon, reaching the Mediterranean coast on the Catalan end of the Pyrenees. At the eastern end on the southern side lies a distinct area known as the Sub-Pyrenees.<ref>Jordi Sacasas i Lluís, Geografía de Catalunya, Publicacions L'Abadia de Montserrat. Template:ISBN</ref>

Main rangesEdit

Although the highest peaks in the Pre-Pyrenees are not as high as those in the Pyrenees proper, some of the ranges are quite massive, with summits reaching up to Template:Convert.<ref>Pirineus-Prepirineus Template:Webarchive</ref>