Serra de Na Burguesa
Encyclopedia
Serra de Na Burguesa (ˈsɛrə ðə nə burˈɣəzə, formerly Serra de Portopí or Sierra de Porto Pi, meaning "Port of Pine Mountain") is a well-defined mountain on the island of Majorca, part of the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 autonomous community
Autonomous communities of Spain
An autonomous community In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian .*Galician .*Basque . The second article of the constitution recognizes the rights of "nationalities and regions" to self-government and declares the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation".Political power in Spain is...

 of the Balearic Islands
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...

. It is the southernmost portion of the Serra de Tramuntana
Serra de Tramuntana
The Serra de Tramuntana is a mountain range running southwest-northeast which forms the northern backbone of the Spanish island of Majorca. It is also the name given to the comarca of the same area...

 range, terminating in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

 at Bay of Palma
Bay of Palma
The Bay of Palma is a bay located to the south of Palma de Mallorca, Mallorca, Spain. It is in the south-west of the Balearic Island of Mallorca. Palma de Mallorca's harbour is located on the northern shores along with some famous beaches. Bounded to the west by Cape Cala Figuera, the north by...

. Na Burguesa is located approximately halfway between Santa Ponsa
Santa Ponsa
Santa Ponsa is a holiday resort in the south-west of Majorca. Located in the municipality of Calvià, it is 18 kilometres from the capital Palma.- History :...

 and Palma. The municipality of Calvià
Calvià
Calvià is a municipality on the island of Majorca, part of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is located in the southwestern part of the island of Majorca, between the Serra de Tramuntana and the Serra de Na Burguesa. The municipal seat is the town of Vila Calvia.Calvià...

 is located between Na Burguesa and Serra de Tramuntana.

History

The mountain's name of Serra de Portopí predates the name Serra de Na Burguesa. Serra de Portopí gained historical significance in 1229 when King James II of Aragon
James II of Aragon
James II , called the Just was the King of Sicily from 1285 to 1296 and King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. In 1297 he was granted the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica...

 crossed it with his troops, and regained Palma for Spain from the occupying Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...

. In present day, Portopí refers to a neighborhood located in the district west of Palma de Mallorca. The later name, Serra de Na Burguesa, honors Francesc Burgués, the Solicitor-General of the Spanish Crown, who, from the early sixteenth century, owned the Bendinat farm at the foot of the mountain. Bendinat
Bendinat
Bendinat is a seaside village in the municipality of Calvià on the west coast of the island of Majorca, part of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is located at the foot of the Serra de Na Burguesa. Much of Bendinat is a residential area, and it is situated next to the...

 is now a residential zone in Calvià.

Geography

The mountain's average height is approximately 400 m (1,312.3 ft) above sea level
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...

, characterized by a low range of hills and steep-sided valleys. Its highest peaks are Puig den Bou at 503 m (1,650.3 ft), and Puig Gros de Bendinat at 486 m (1,594.5 ft), Subsequent to fires on Na Burguesa, a fire tower was built on the 432 m (1,417.3 ft) Es Pi de ses Creus. Fire tracks now traverse the entire crest of Na Burguesa. There are numerous cave systems on Na Burguesa, and important archaeological discoveries have been made in the caves.

Mirador de n'Alzamora is a natural terrace on Na Burguesa. Until the early twentieth century, summer grazing herds could be found in the Coll dels Pastors 443 m (1,453.4 ft), the mountain's central highlands. High levels of chloride
Chloride
The chloride ion is formed when the element chlorine, a halogen, picks up one electron to form an anion Cl−. The salts of hydrochloric acid HCl contain chloride ions and can also be called chlorides. The chloride ion, and its salts such as sodium chloride, are very soluble in water...

s have been found in some of the mountain's aquifer
Aquifer
An aquifer is a wet underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...

s.

Fauna and flora

It is characterized by a significant mass of pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...

 trees and Mediterranean maquis
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...

. In addition, there are oaks, strawberry trees, roses, wild gladiola
Gladiolus
Gladiolus is a genus of perennial bulbous flowering plants in the iris family...

, and flowering shrubs. There are lizards, butterflies and insects.

Further reading

  • Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana
    Great Catalan Encyclopedia
    The Great Catalan Encyclopedia is a Catalan-language encyclopedia, started by fascicles, and published in 1968 by Edicions 62. The soul of the work was written by Max Cahner, and the first director was Jordi Carbonell i Ballester...

    , "Serra de Porto Pi y Francesc Burgues", Barcelona
    Barcelona
    Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

    (Enciclopèdia Catalana, SA), 1992, (Catalan)
  • Magnus Mörner: La expedición del Marqués de La Romana . Magnus Mörner: La Expedición del Marqués de La Romana. Fundación Instituto de Empresa. Fundación Instituto de Empresa. Madrid, 2007. (Spanish)
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