Ports de Tortosa-Beseit

Ports de Tortosa-Beseit
Rocky outcrops at els Ports
Highest point
Peak	Mont Caro
Elevation	1,441 m (4,728 ft)
Listing	List of mountains in Aragon
Coordinates	40°48′28″N 0°19′07″E / 40.80778°N 0.31861°E / 40.80778; 0.31861Coordinates: 40°48′28″N 0°19′07″E / 40.80778°N 0.31861°E / 40.80778; 0.31861
Geography
Ports de Tortosa-Beseit Location in Spain
Country	Spain
States/Provinces	Matarranya (Aragon), Baix Ebre & Montsià (Catalonia) and Baix Maestrat (Valencian Community)
Parent range	Iberian System, eastern zone
Geology
Orogeny	Alpine orogeny
Age of rock	Cretaceous
Type of rock	Karstic
Climbing
Easiest route	Drive from Roquetes on the western side or from Beseit on the eastern

Ports de Tortosa-Beseit (Valencian pronunciation: [ˈpɔɾdz ðe toɾˈtoza beˈzejt]), also known as Ports de Beseit, or simply as Els Ports ([els ˈpɔrts]) or Lo Port ([lo ˈpɔrt]) by locals, is a limestone mountain massif located at the north-eastern end of the Sistema Ibérico, a complex system of mountain ranges and massifs in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. Its highest point is Mont Caro, 1,441 m. Rivers such as the Matarranya and the Sénia have their source in these mountains.

At the 1350 m high Tossal dels Tres Reis (Peak of the Three Kings), where the borders of the ancient Kingdoms of Valencia, Catalonia and Aragon meet, there is a cairn marking the meeting point of the ancient three kingdoms of the Crown of Aragon.

It is mostly a limestone massif, with many steep cliffs, jagged peaks, deep valleys, shafts and caves. The area is mostly uninhabited except for small villages. These mountains were one of the last redoubts of the Spanish Maquis in the 1940s and 50s.

One of the largest colonies of griffon vultures in Europe, as well as Spanish Ibex, Roe Deer, Wild Boar, European badgers, common genets, grey wagtails, among others, have their habitat in these lonely mountains. Among the aquatic animals there are trout in some of the rivers and amphibians such as the Marbled newt in many of the ponds of the range.