This episode takes us to a new zone in the planet. It explores the formation of the Iberian Peninsula and its influence on the limiting of continents, introducing representative areas and ecosystems that will be explored in the following episodes.
The Iberian Peninsula used to be a small continent floating on a plate between Africa and Europe. The Alpine orogeny strategically caused the peninsula to collide with the southern European continent, giving shape and almost closing the Mediterranean Sea. As a result of that movement, both continents became closer and numerous mountain chains, such as the Pyrenees, the Central System and the “Picos de Europa”, were formed. The peninsula became a bridge full of distinctive features and ecosystems that facilitated the existence of diverse and unique landscapes. On the one hand, the mountainous North was filled with wet and cold Euro-Siberian forests. On the other, the South turned into a warm territory where several species found shelter during the ice age.
