- Liébana
Comarca
comarca_name = Liébana
location_
location_map_size = 250px
province = Cantabria
capital =Potes
largest_city =
demonym = lebaniego, -a
population = 5,860
area = 574.83
pop_density = 10.19
municipalities =Cabezón de Liébana |Camaleño |Cillorigo de Liébana |Pesaguero |Potes |Tresviso |Vega de Liébana |Liébana is a "
comarca " ofCantabria (Spain ).It is one of the best defined "comarcas" of the region, with an extension of 570 square kilometers and localized to the southwest of Cantabria. It borders with
Asturias , León and Palencia. It is made up of the municipalities of:Cabezón de Liébana ,Camaleño ,Cillorigo de Liébana ,Pesaguero ,Potes ,Tresviso yVega de Liébana .It is a closed mountainous "comarca", constituted by four valleys (Valdebaró, Cereceda, Piedrasluengas and Cillorigo) that connect inPotes , the center of the "comarca". Its main rivers are theDeva River , the Quiviesa and the Buyón. From its steep relief stands out thelimestone from theCarboniferous , affected bykarst ic processes.Shale andsandstone can be found in the bottom of the valleys.Its condition of great deep valley, with big differences in altitude and steep slopes creates a great wide variety of environments which allow for a multitude of vegetable species: beeches,
holm oak s,cork oak s and other types ofoak s ("Quercus robur, Quercus Pyrenaica" and "Quercus lusitania"), grazing pastures and cultivation crops. Its narrow relief makes it have amicroclimate different from the rest of the region, affected by an atlantic climate. So, while in the bottom of the valley of Liébana aMediterranean climate can be enjoyed, it shiftes progressively as we ascend to a humid atlantic climate until reaching subalpine conditions in the high peaks ofPicos de Europa . The average annual temperatures are 28ºC maximum and 8ºC minimum, with a lower precipitation rate than in other Cantabrian zones (800 mm annually versus 1,000 to 1,200 mm of average in the region).The economy of the "comarca" of Liébana has shifted from the primary sector to the
rural tourism boom, thanks to its landscapes and the appeal of thePicos de Europa National Park . Nevertheless, the development brought by the tourism has affected the township ofPotes , capital of the "comarca" almost exclusively, in detriment of the rest of villages of the valley. Thus, as Potes enjoys population growth, the rest of population nuclei are decreasing in population.At the end of the
14th century , KingJohn I of Castile granted the lordship of Liébana to his cousin DonJuan Téllez of Castile , Lord ofAguilar de Campoo and son of theInfante DonTello of Castile .Towards the half of the15th century , the possession of the lordship of Liébana was origin to one of the frequent peerage wars of that time, and subsequently to a long lawsuit between the heirs of Don Juan Téllez of Castile (the Marquises of Aguilar de Campoo) and the successors of the second marriage of his wife DoñaLeonor de la Vega (the Dukes of Infantado). In1576 the courts passed sentence in favor of the House of Infantado.ee also
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Santo Toribio de Liébana Bibliography
*"Songbook of Liébana",
Matilde Camus 1977 External links
*es icon [http://www.cantabria2007.es/ Cantabria 2007. Liébana land of joy.]
*es icon [http://www.liebana.net Liebana.net]
* [http://www.liebanaypicosdeeuropa.com/index-i.htm Liébana and Picos de Europa]
*es icon [http://www.centrodeestudioslebaniegos.com Center of Studies of Liébana]
*es icon [http://www.jubileolebaniego.com 2006-2007 Liébanan Jubilee Year]
*es icon [http://www.amigosdeliebana.org Economic Society Friends of Liébana Country]
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