It constitutes a communication axis that surrounds the city of Cáceres to the north. La Ronda, with a total length of 6,032 km., Starts from the La Sierrilla roundabout on the N-630 and ends on the N-521, at the height of the Integrated Education Center. It has two lanes per road, a median, exterior and interior shoulders, a bicycle and pedestrian lane, eight roundabouts and two overpasses for pedestrians.
Inaugurated in October 2004, its budget has exceeded 20 million euros, with funding from the Junta de Extremadura. It is expected to continue with the East Round, 3.7 km long, which has not yet been projected and is pending funding from the Central Government, and the South Round, 1.5 km long and in the same situation. than the previous one, thus forming a belt around the city.
As in all public works, the visual and landscape impacts, as well as on the soil and vegetation, have been considerable. However, the corrective and recovery measures carried out have largely mitigated the negative impacts.
Reforestation has been carried out properly with thousands of trees, shrubs and bushes that are integrated into the environment and will serve to recover the vegetation, minimize the visual impact and retain the soil on the slopes. It is worth noting the correct replanting of the olive trees that were affected by the works.
On the side walks there are abundant bananas (Platanus ssp.), Mulberry trees (Morus alba), cinnamon trees (Melia azedarach), hibiscus (Hibiscus ssp.), Hackberries (Celtis australis), olive trees (Olea europaea), pines (Pinus pinea), alders (Alnus glutinosa), love tree (Cercis siliquastrum), cystaceae (Cistus ssp.), thuja (Thuja ssp.), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), etc. Oleander (Nerium oleander), gayombas (Spartium juncium) and prunes (Prunus pisardii) predominate in the median. In some roundabouts there are magnificent specimens of very old olive trees.
From the geological point of view, on this route the rocky outcrops that can be seen on the slopes stand out and that allow us to observe the rocks that make up the subsoil of the city of Cáceres.
The most interesting part of the route is located between the roundabout on the Casar de Cáceres road and that of the Aguas Vivas stream, so that in that direction we will distinguish the rocks from older to younger. On the slope of the first roundabout mentioned, Ordovician quartzites appear, vertical, hard and very resistant to erosion, with black pyrolusite dendrites on the surface of the joints, as well as a small reverse fault. Then, towards the roundabout of Aguas Vivas, we will find a series of alternating slate and Ordovician quartzites and then Silurian ones. The quartzites, like harder rocks, originate great projections and, within the city, the highest heights (Plaza de Italia, San Mateo, Paseo Alto and old barracks). In the alternation of slates with small layers of somewhat ferruginous quartzites (reddish colors), we will appreciate small folds and faults, in addition to some sedimentary structures such as rizaduras, testimony that these materials were deposited in a very shallow sea.
The Ronda Norte cuts the Cáceres syncline, which determines the repetition of a part of the series of rocks. Silurian quartzites reappear at the roundabout of the “Urbanization of La Sierrilla”, indicating the passage to the other flank of the synclinal.
