[1] The Sierra Norte is not very high and its mountains have generally a rounded shape except for the occasional karstic crags.

Holm oaks are more common, growing in clarified forests where there are also large clearings, known locally as dehesas.

These are characteristic of the Sierra Morena landscape and are traditional pasture zones for cattle and pigs.

Also typical are the gallery forests shading the rivers of the range that provide a home to birds such as the Spanish imperial eagle, the cinereous vulture and the black stork.

[4] The geological structure of the Sierra Norte is quite complex, with rocks ranging in age from Cambrian to Permo-Triassic.