Canuto del Montero (Montero river gorge) in Los Alcornocales Natural Park, Cadiz, SW Spain

Los Alcornocales Natural Park is the biggest cork oak forest (Quercus suber) in the world. It covers a wide area, from Grazalema to the Strait of Gibraltar, on siliceous sandstone. Elevation hardly reaches 1000 masl, but relief is extremely complex and steep. In general, the humidity is high through the year, and the persistent fog on the peaks allows maintaining considerable soil moisture contents throughout the year. Especially in the shady slopes, under dense vegetation cover, soils are deep and show washing processes and intense mobilization of clays, as shown in the soil profile at http://imaggeo.egu.eu/view/2661/.