Summit typology and detailed geomorphological landscape units mapping through the application of direct and indirect methods. A case study in the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park, Spain

Abstract

This paper analyzes the topography and the geomorphological characteristics of the central sector of the Sierra de Guadarrama (Spanish Central Range) from the point of view of the geomorphological landscape. Using Digital Elevation Models (DEM) and topographic maps, the aim is to supplement conventional geomorphological analysis by applying indirect morphometric methods for the detailed study of landforms through topographic analysis in order to obtain maps of diverse morphometric parameters, resulting in an exhaustive study, which is useful and revealing both in terms of geomorphology and of landscape. The morphometric maps obtained for each variable, such as the density of the dissection, the depth of the dissection and the energy of the relief, are overlaid on the derived maps from the DEM using Geographical Information System (GIS). Their analysis, using both indirect and direct methods during several field studies, in combination with the geology and the geomorphology of the study area, allows a more accurate study of the unit delimitation of the geomorphological landscape at a detailed scale. In a mountainous environment with smooth and apparently homogeneous summits, this detailed study of the geomorphological landscape shows the existence of different types of summits. The results are presented as a typology of summits and a map synthesizing the detailed units of geomorphological landscape that can be found in the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Central Spain).