Cantera de piedras de Molino de la Sierra de la Utrera (Millstone quarry in Sierra de la Utrera)
The geology of El Torcal de Casares—Karst de la Utrera—allows the millstone mining activity to be carried out, which is already mentioned in 18th-century records. However, there are signs of a fairly significant industry activity that must have been operating at least since the 16th century.
El Canuto de la Utrera is a spectacular duplication of El Torcal de Antequera, a place emerged from the depths of the ocean and shaped by a labyrinth of karstic relief where one of the most endangered species of the Mediterranean dwells.
Sierra de la Utrera is a small and fascinating karstic area in the municipality of Casares (Málaga). Its geological formation consists of calcium rocks (nodular and oolitic limestone, principally) of the marlstone and limestone type attributed to Penibetic units originating in the Jurassic period.
The karst boasts outstanding environmental attributes evidenced by the presence of exclusive and priority natural habitats within the European Community. As a result, the environmental federation Ecologistas en Acción suggested its inclusion to the Natura 2000 network as a Site of Community Interest. Also, its spectacular geomorphological formation is expected to prompt the Junta de Andalucía (Andalusian Regional Government) to declare El Canuto de la Utrera a Natural Monument soon. Its strategic conditions as a refuge and watchtower have allowed the area to be inhabited since Palaeolithic times as well as at different times throughout prehistory and history in the form of discontinuous occupation. This is evidenced by the numerous archaeological findings and sites that have been found in this small karst.
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