Sierra Nevada (; meaning "snow-covered mountain range") is a mountain range in the Andalusian province of Granada in Spain. It contains the highest point of continental Spain: Mulhacén, at above sea level.
It is a popular tourist destination, as its high peaks make skiing possible in one of Europe's most southerly ski resorts, in an area along the Mediterranean Sea predominantly known for its high temperatures and abundant sunshine. At its foothills is found the city of Granada, and a little further south, AlmerÃÂa and Motril.
Parts of the range have been included in the Sierra Nevada National Park. The range has also been declared a biosphere reserve. The Sierra Nevada Observatory, the Calar Alto Observatory, and the IRAM 30m telescope are located on the northern slopes at an elevation of .
Sierra Nevada was formed during the Alpine Orogeny, a mountain-building event that also formed the European Alps to the east and the Atlas Mountains of northern Africa across the Mediterranean Sea to the south. The Sierra as observed today formed during the Paleogene and Neogene Periods (66 to 1.8 million years ago) from the collision of the African and Eurasian continental plates.
Central to the mountain range is a ridge running broadly west-south-west - east-north-east. For a substantial distance, the watershed stays consistently above .
On the southern side of the range, several long, narrow river valleys lead off towards the south-west, separated by a number of subsidiary ridges. On the steeper and craggier northern side, the valleys have less regular orientations. This side is dominated by the Rio Genil which starts near Mulhacén and into which many of the other rivers flow.
Geologically, the range is composed chiefly of soft micaceous schists, sloping steeply to the north, but more gradually to the south and south-east.
According to the Köppen climate classification, Sierra Nevada has a Mediterranean climate (Csa/Csb), with different variations depending on the altitude. Above the climate is subarctic (Dsc), due to the location's high elevation and low summer precipitation. With June and September being around the threshold of in mean temperature to avoid the subarctic classification, the climate at a slightly lower elevation is humid continental (Dsa/Dsb). At an elevation slightly lower than that classification area; where February means average above ; it falls into the normal cool-summer mediterranean classification transitioning with the hot-summer variety in surrounding lowland areas. This renders Sierra Nevada's climate a highland cooled-down variety of a typical mediterranean climate. Summer and winter daytime temperatures are some 12 ðC lower than found in Granada, differences that are even greater in spring as Sierra Nevada takes longer to approach the short summers. In May daytime highs in Sierra Nevada are around with Granada having an average of . The yearly temperature of at the ski station of Pradollano is in stark contrast to Granada's and coastal Málaga's .
The Sierra Nevada is home to diverse plant communities, which vary with elevation and exposure. Mediterranean evergreen broadleaf forests and woodlands predominate at lower and middle elevations, with deciduous and conifer forests at higher elevations and subalpine shrublands and grasslands at the highest elevations. The Sierra Nevada is a biodiversity hotspot, home to many endemic and relict species. The European Environment Agency and WWF include the Sierra Nevada in the Iberian conifer forests ecoregion.
Evergreen oaks, chiefly holm oak (Quercus rotundifolia), cork oak (Quercus suber) and kermes oak (Quercus coccifera) and maquis shrubland dominated by Olea europaea, Ceratonia siliqua, Laurus nobilis, Arbutus unedo, Rhamnus alaternus, Pistacia terebinthus, Pistacia lentiscus, Erica arborea, Erica scoparia, Phillyrea angustifolia, Phillyrea latifolia, Myrtus communis and Chamaerops humilis grow on dry and south-facing slopes at low and mid-elevations.
High-elevation plant communities in the Sierra Nevada include high-mountain wet grasslands, high mountain grasslands, and high-mountain shrubland. High-mountain wet grasslands grow on peat soils and around springs fed by snowmelt, and include many endemic species. High-mountain grasslands are dominated by grasses and rosette plants, including the endemic species Festuca clementei, Hormathophylla purpurea, Erigeron frigidus, Saxifraga nevadensis, Viola crassiuscula, and Linaria glacialis. High-mountain shrubland grows between 1,800 and 3,100 meters elevation, and is domninated by Juniperus communis and Genista versicolor, with Juniperus sabina, Cytisus oromediterraneus, Hormathophylla spinosa, Prunus prostrata, Astragalus nevadensis, Thymus serpylloides, Arenaria pungens, and Cerastium boissierianum.
The Sierra Nevada is one of the foremost plant biodiversity hotspots in the Western Mediterranean. 2100 species of vascular plants have been recorded in the Sierra Nevada, of which 80 are endemic, including about 40% of high-elevation species. Some species endemic to the Sierra Nevada and nearby Baetic mountains include Aquilegia nevadensis, Arenaria funiculata, Carex camposii, Centaurea bombycina, Centaurea granatensis, Delphinium nevadense, Galium erythrorrhizon, Globularia spinosa, Kernera boissieri, Lactuca singularis, Lavandula lanata, Linaria verticillata, Potentilla reuteri, Primula intricata subsp. lofthousei, Pterocephalus spathulatus, Salvia candelabrum, Saxifraga erioblasta, Saxifraga nevadensis, Senecio quinqueradiatus, and Vella spinosa.
The British Electronic-Duo The KLF filmed a portion of their unreleased 1989 Road Film "The White Room" around and on Sierra Nevada.