Glacial cirques in the high valleys of the Aragón and Gállego (Central Spanish Pyrenees): Morphometric analyses and spatial distribution

Abstract

206 glacial cirques have been identified in the high valleys of the Aragon and Gallego rivers, Central Spanish Pyrenees, in order to study the environmental factors explaining their spatial distribution (altitude, aspect, lithology) and several morphometric features (area, width, length, L/W relations, etc.). The use of bivariable and multivariable statistical analyses confirms that a part of the morphometric variability of the glacial cirques is explained by the environmental factors studied, but their influence is relatively limited. Altitude behaves as the most important factor, affecting both the length and the degree of overdeepening of the cirques. The role of the lithology is less obvious because of its interactions with the altitude.