Fertile wind
The intense use of wind power on this small mountain range between the Cantabrian coast and the inland area of A Terra Chá betrays the wind’s constant presence. One of these winds is the xistra, a gust of cold, damp wind that sweeps over the mountains, which have no protection other than the bare rock of some peaks.
The northern massif is made up of the O Xistral, whose highest points are in O Cadramón (1,062 m), the mountains of A Toxiza (832 m) and A Carba (908 m). Apart from the wind this massif is also the kingdom of fog. It traps the loaded clouds which, every year, causes heavy rainfalls. Despite its nearness to the sea, it is not unusual to have winter snows here. Water is deposited on the high plains, flooding the natural pastures and creating extensive deposits of peat. These are the peat bog covers, popularly called barriers, mudflats or lake. For example, in Barreiras do Lago, Lagoa das Furnas and Tremoal da Charca de Santa Cruz.
The main rivers that spring up in the mountains are the Eume, on the Atlantic slope, and the Landro, Ouro and Masma, in the Cantabrian one. Roaming wild horses are a frequent sight in this mountain range.