Vixía Herbeira viewpoint
A balcony overlooking the materials exhumed from the Earth's mantle
As at Punta do Limo, at the Vixía Herbeira viewpoint, located between Cariño and Cedeira, our feet tread on peridotites and pyroxenites that emerged from the upper mantle. At this point, we are 613 metres above sea level. The cliffs of Herbeira are the highest in continental Europe and form a rocky tapestry that plunges into the sea on vertiginous slopes, offering us an impressive panoramic view. The heterogeneity of the materials that make up this mantle massif raises significant uncertainties in determining their geological age, especially in the case of peridotites. The Earth's original peridotite mantle is very old, vital, but has been subject to continuous episodes of modification. The pyroxenites in these massifs are younger and are considered to be of Cambrian age.
In the Herbeira massif, looking westwards, there is a privileged spot to watching the sunset over the Atlantic. The highest point of Herbeira is considered by some authors to be a partial remnant of the fragmentation of Pangea that led to the opening of the Atlantic Ocean.
