VILLAMANIN MAPPING PROJECT 2011

Our mapping areas were centred around Villamanin, a small village within the Cantabrian mountains, northern Spain. This region is host to spectacular scenery and wildlife as well as interesting geology ranging in age from Cambrian to Carboniferous.

AccommodationFor the duration of our project we stayed on a children’s holiday camp where

we became familiar with the local culture and food of the region. We enjoyed sampling the popular Spanish tortillas and Tapas during our stay. Travel around our mapping area was always by foot, with a maximum walking time of around 2 hours to the far reaches of our areas.

Ready for the field at our accommodation: Campus Turistico, Villamanin.

GeologyRock types were very varied and ranged from fossiliferous limestones and

dolostones to quartzites and sandstones, mudrocks and fossiliferous red griottes. Fossil finds included bivalves, brachiopods, crinoids, gastropods, goniatites, graptolites and conodonts. Structurally the area was quite complex with abundant faults and folding associated with the Variscan and Alpine orogenies. There were also some brilliant glacial features including two nivation hollows on the North facing side of Cueto Fontun.

Cueto Fontun (1960m peak)

WildlifeLizard sightings were common throughout the trip as were spectacular

glimpses of various birds including Egyptian and Griffon Vultures, kestrals and buzzards. The semi-wild herd of horses was also a frequent treat when mapping around Cerro de la Mata. On rare occasions we saw deer and bats too and several unusual insects were also spotted. Fortunately, we didn’t encounter the Cantabrian bears or wolves though.

Left: herd of horsesBelow right: Praying Mantis

Whilst mapping we also . . .

. . sang in caves . . .

. . . played flute by fault breccia . . .

. . . wrestled with gorse and bad weather . . .

. . . and witnessed brilliant sunsets.

Sight-seeingWhilst in northern Spain we took the opportunity to visit caves in Bilbao with

unusual stalactites which grow horizontally. It is currently still unknown as to why they do this: small air currents in the caves; capillary action; spider’s webs providing a framework on which they can grow have so far been proposed as possible mechanisms. We also took time to visit Leon’s gothic cathedral and to help teach English to the Spanish children in Villamanin.

Cathedral in Leon

Thank youWe would all like to thank you very much for your contribution towards the costs of our mapping project. The funding was very much appreciated and was put towards our travel and accommodation expenses.

Kate Horan, Christopher Barry, Amelia Penny and Lois Salem.