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Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Replica of the Cave of Altamira at the National Archaeological Museum (Madrid)
Location	Northern Spain
Includes	Altamira La Peña de Candamo [es] Tito Bustillo Covaciella [es] Llonín El Pindal [es] Chufín Hornos de la Peña [es] Monte Castillo: El Castillo Monte Castillo: Las Monedas Monte Castillo: La Pasiega Monte Castillo: Las Chimeneas El Pendo [es] La Garma Covalanas [es] Santimamiñe Ekain [es] Altxerri
Criteria	Cultural: (i), (iii)
Reference	310bis
Inscription	1985 (9th Session)
Extensions	2008
Buffer zone	2,234.706 ha (5,522.08 acres)
Coordinates	43°22′39″N 4°07′21″W / 43.3774°N 4.1225°W / 43.3774; -4.1225
Location of Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain in Earth

The Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain (Cueva de Altamira y arte rupestre paleolítico del Norte de España) is a grouping of 18 caves of northern Spain, which together represent the apogee of Upper Paleolithic cave art in Europe between 35,000 and 11,000 years ago (Aurignacian, Gravettian, Solutrean, Magdalenian, Azilian). In 2008, they were collectively designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Chief among these caves is Altamira, located within the town of Santillana del Mar in Cantabria. It remains one of the most important painting cycles of prehistory, originating in the Magdalenian and Solutrean periods of the Upper Paleolithic. This cave's artistic style represents the Franco-cantabrian school, characterized by the realism of its figural representation. Altamira Cave was declared a World Heritage Site in 1985. In 2008, the World Heritage Site was expanded to include 17 additional caves located in three autonomous communities of northern Spain: Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country.

List of caves

Code	Name	Location	Coordinates	Buffer zone
310-001	Cueva de Altamira	Cantabria, Santillana del Mar	43°22′57″N 04°07′13″W / 43.38250°N 4.12028°W / 43.38250; -4.12028	16 ha
310-002	Cueva de la Peña de Candamo	Asturias, Candamo, San Román	43°27′21″N 6°4′21″W / 43.45583°N 6.07250°W / 43.45583; -6.07250	100 ha
310-003	Cueva de Tito Bustillo	Asturias, Ribadesella	43°27′39″N 5°4′4″W / 43.46083°N 5.06778°W / 43.46083; -5.06778	243 ha
310-004	Cueva de La Covaciella	Asturias, Cabrales	43°19′5″N 4°52′30″W / 43.31806°N 4.87500°W / 43.31806; -4.87500	11.3 ha
310-005	Cueva de Llonín	Asturias, Peñamellera Alta	43°19′50″N 4°38′43″W / 43.33056°N 4.64528°W / 43.33056; -4.64528	17.4 ha
310-006	Cueva del Pindal	Asturias, Ribadedeva	43°23′51″N 4°31′58″W / 43.39750°N 4.53278°W / 43.39750; -4.53278	69.4 ha
310-007	Cueva de Chufín	Cantabria, Rionansa	43°17′26″N 4°27′29″W / 43.29056°N 4.45806°W / 43.29056; -4.45806	16.7 ha
310-008	Cueva de Hornos de la Peña	Cantabria, San Felices de Buelna	43°15′40″N 4°1′47″W / 43.26111°N 4.02972°W / 43.26111; -4.02972	25 ha
310-009	Cueva de El Castillo	Cantabria Puente Viesgo, Cantabria	43°17′33″N 3°57′56″W / 43.2924°N 3.9655°W / 43.2924; -3.9655	69 ha
310-010	Cueva de Las Monedas	Cantabria, Puente Viesgo	43°17′20″N 3°58′03″W / 43.289°N 3.9675°W / 43.289; -3.9675	69 ha
310-011	Cueva de La Pasiega	Cantabria, Puente Viesgo	43°17′20″N 3°57′58″W / 43.289°N 3.966°W / 43.289; -3.966	69 ha
310-012	Cueva de Las Chimeneas	Cantabria Puente Viesgo	43°17′29″N 3°57′52″W / 43.2914°N 3.9644°W / 43.2914; -3.9644	69 ha
310-013	Cueva de El Pendo	Cantabria, Camargo	43°23′17″N 3°54′44″W / 43.38806°N 3.91222°W / 43.38806; -3.91222	64 ha
310-014	Cueva de La Garma	Cantabria, Ribamontán al Monte	43°25′50″N 3°39′57″W / 43.43056°N 3.66583°W / 43.43056; -3.66583	100 ha
310-015	Cueva de Covalanas	Cantabria, Ramales de la Victoria	43°14′44″N 3°27′08″W / 43.24556°N 3.45222°W / 43.24556; -3.45222	1374 ha
310-016	Cueva de Santimamiñe	País Vasco, Vizcaya, Cortézubi	43°20′47″N 2°38′12″W / 43.34639°N 2.63667°W / 43.34639; -2.63667	99 ha
310-017	Cueva de Ekain	País Vasco, Guipúzcoa, Deva	43°14′09″N 02°16′31″W / 43.23583°N 2.27528°W / 43.23583; -2.27528	14.6 ha
310-018	Cueva de Altxerri	País Vasco, Guipúzcoa, Aia	43°16′7″N 02°08′02″W / 43.26861°N 2.13389°W / 43.26861; -2.13389	15 ha

See also

• National Museum and Research Center of Altamira
• Caves in Cantabria
• Franco-Cantabrian region
• Art of the Upper Paleolithic
• List of Stone Age art

References

• Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain (unesco.org)
• Pike, A. W. G.; Hoffmann, D. L.; Garcia-Diez, M.; Pettitt, P. B.; Alcolea, J.; De Balbin, R.; Gonzalez-Sainz, C.; de las Heras, C.; Lasheras, J. A.; Montes, R.; Zilhao, J. (14 June 2012). "U-Series Dating of Paleolithic Art in 11 Caves in Spain". Science. 336 (6087): 1409–1413. Bibcode:2012Sci...336.1409P. doi:10.1126/science.1219957. PMID 22700921. S2CID 7807664.

v t e Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain
UNESCO World Heritage Site
310-001: Altamira (Santillana del Mar) 310-002: La Peña de Candamo (Candamo) 310-003: Tito Bustillo (Ribadesella) 310-004: Covaciella (Cabrales) 310-005: Llonín (Peñamellera Alta) 310-006: El Pindal (Ribadedeva) 310-007: Chufín (Rionansa) 310-008: Hornos de la Peña (San Felices de Buelna) 310-009: Monte Castillo - El Castillo (Puente Viesgo) 310-010: Monte Castillo - Las Monedas (Puente Viesgo) 310-011: Monte Castillo - La Pasiega (Puente Viesgo) 310-012: Monte Castillo - Las Chimeneas (Puente Viesgo) 310-013: El Pendo (Camargo) 310-014: La Garma (Ribamontán al Monte) 310-015: Covalanas (Ramales de la Victoria) 310-016: Santimamiñe (Kortezubi) 310-017: Ekain (Deba) 310-018: Altxerri (Aia)
See also: Caves of Monte Castillo

v t e World Heritage Sites in Spain
For official site names, see each article or the List of World Heritage Sites in Spain.
North West	Caves of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of the Asturias Roman walls of Lugo Route of Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela (Old Town) Tower of Hercules
North East	Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests Caves of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon Pirineos - Monte Perdido Rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin Route of Santiago de Compostela San Millán Yuso and Suso Monasteries Vizcaya Bridge
Centre	Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests Aranjuez Cultural Landscape Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida Archaeological Site of Atapuerca Old Town of Ávila with its Extra-mural Churches Burgos Cathedral Old Town of Cáceres Historic Walled Town of Cuenca Monastery and Site of El Escorial Heritage of Mercury. Almadén and Idrija Las Médulas Monastery of Saint Mary of Guadalupe Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro, a landscape of Arts and Sciences Rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin Route of Santiago de Compostela Old City of Salamanca Old Town of Segovia and its Aqueduct Siega Verde Historic City of Toledo University and Historic Precinct of Alcalá de Henares
East	Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco, Tarragona Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boí Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona Palmeral of Elche Poblet Abbey Rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin Silk Exchange in Valencia Works of Antoni Gaudí
South	Alhambra, Generalife and Albaicín, Granada Cathedral, Alcázar and General Archive of the Indies, Seville Dolmens Site of Antequera Doñana National Park Historic Centre of Córdoba Madinat al-Zahra Renaissance Monuments of Úbeda and Baeza Rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin
Balearic Islands	Cultural Landscape of the Serra de Tramuntana Ibiza, Biodiversity and Culture Prehistoric Sites of Talayotic Menorca
Canary Islands	Garajonay Risco Caído and the Sacred Mountains San Cristóbal de La Laguna Teide National Park
Shared with other region/s Shared with France Shared with Slovenia Shared with Portugal Shared with Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland and Ukraine

• Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain
• 2008 establishments in Spain
• Art of the Upper Paleolithic
• Paleolithic Europe
• Rock art in Spain
• Limestone caves
• Show caves in Spain
• Green Spain
• Prehistoric sites in Spain
• World Heritage Sites in Spain
• Caves of the Basque Country (autonomous community)
• Landforms of Asturias
• Tourist attractions in Asturias
• Protected areas of Asturias
• Tourist attractions in the Basque Country (autonomous community)
• Caves of Cantabria