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Located near Castellón, close to Benicàssim; The desert of Las Palmas is a very steep mountain range close to the sea, with altitudes that start from 200 m to 729 m of Mount Bartolo. Its name refers to the fact that it is an uninhabited area and to the abundance of mediterranean dwarf palm (Chamaerops humilis). Mostly the predominant bedrock is red sandstone that will give rise to acidic soils.
It has a typical Mediterranean climate, but its proximity to the sea gives it special climatic characteristics because the easterly winds loaded with humiditycause fog allowing the formation of more humid microclimates. The average annual rainfall is close to 600 mm with maximums in spring (May) and late summer-autumn (September) and a strong dry spell in summer. The rains, sometimes torrential, cause strong erosion in the landscape.
The potential vegetation of the site was forests of holm oaks (Quercus ilex subsp. rotundifolia) in areas of limestone soil and cork oaks (Quercus suber) in siliceous and humid areas. Due to the agricultural transformation of the soil, charcoal, grazing and fires (the most serious of which devastated the mountains in 1992) there are only small groves or isolated specimens of these species and nowadays, most of the territory is occupied by various types of scrubland, and in less extend, formations of pine forests such as the maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) and the Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), which, thanks to their ease of adaptation, have been invading abandoned agricultural areas and replacing old forests of Holm Oaks and Cork Oaks.
Most interesting ecosystems
Cork Oak forests. It grows exclusively on siliceous soils (red sandstone). The undergrowth is dominated by species such as the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo), the tree heather (Erica arborea),the butcher’s broom (Ruscus aculeatus), the Cade maritime juniper (Juniperus oxycedrus) or the ivy (Hedera helix).
Rockrose groves. They are formations dominated by different species of rockrose that develop on siliceous or decarbonated soils such as the montpellier rockrose (Cistus monspeliensis) and gallipoli rose (Cistus salviifolius), and in the wetter areas they are also accompanied by the rockrose (Cistus populifolius).
Pine forests. The presence of the maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) is very frequent on siliceous areas, and of the Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) in the calcareous areas is very frequent.
Holm Oak forest. There is a small area dominated by holm oak (Quercus ilex subsp. rotundifolia), with an undergrowth in which species such as kermes oak (Quercus coccifera), mediterranean dwarf palm (Chamaerops humilis) and sarsaparille (Smilax aspera) abound.