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El Toro (Menorca)

mountain on Minorca, Spain

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 16, 2026
Entity authorityQ474901
Source-derived summary

El Toro in Catalan, sometimes known by its Spanish name of Monte Toro, is the tallest hill of the island of Menorca, rising to an elevation of 358 m (1,175 ft) above mean sea level. The mountain is home to the Sanctuary of the Verge del Toro. The mountain's summit can be reached by car or on foot, from which there is a fantastic view of almost the entire island and even the mountains of Mallorca on a clear day.

El Toro is designated as an ANEI (protected natural area).

Etymology

The name "Toro" is an evolution, in part for the different languages and cultures that have passed in the island, of the Catalan (Menorquí) word "Turó", which means Hill. The name could also be derived from Arabic, coming from tor or al-tor which means 'height'. It does not come from, nor is it related to, the Spanish word for "bull".

Location

Monte Toro rises above the surrounding farmland and foothills approximately 2 miles (3km) east from the central town of Es Mercadal, in the centre of the island. It can be seen from places throughout the island and is instantly recognisable, due to the fact it is Menorca's only prominent summit.

Features

On a clear day, the whole of the island is visible, especially the northern region from Ciutadella to Fornells and the mountains of Mallorca.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “El Toro (Menorca)” as mountain on Minorca, Spain. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewMost useful as a place-based finding aid connecting the present description to earlier jurisdictions, maps and built evidence. The current 227-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Toro, Menorca and mountain can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as mountain on Minorca, Spain. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q474901.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “El Toro (Menorca)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow El Toro (Menorca) primary sources, El Toro (Menorca) archive and Toro research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “El Toro (Menorca)”?
  2. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
  3. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from El Toro (Menorca)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.