The territories of Candín, Ibias and Navia de Suarna are organized by valleys which connect mountains with the lowlands. The municipality of Candín has a mean altitude of 888 m. Most villages in it are located in the fluvio-glacial valley formed by the Ancares river and its two main tributaries. The vally is ringed by mountains that reach 1900 m. In Navia de Suarna and Ibias the valleys of the Navia and Ibias, respectively, are of fluvial origin, characteristic in their narrowness and much lower altitude (between 200 and 400 m). The mountains around them, however, also reach 2000 m. Unlike Candín, the people in these valleys live much more scattered, with countless small villages and parishes. Even though the capital villages are in the narrow valleys, many of the villages are located quite high, such as Santiso, 950 m, or Ventosa, 750 m.
It is not only the overly high altitude but, above all, the high relief which in many ways determines how farming is carried out, by limiting tillable land and the range of possible crops, a type of farming we can call ‘mountain farming’. There are many forested areas and pastures, which are often for common use.
Nonetheless, this model should not be considered static. The intensity and extension of farming has changed greatly through history, especially in the recent decades which have brought a significant fall in the productivity, stemming from the reciprocally reinforcing processes of lower profitability for farming and abandonment. As a result, the surface dedicated to agriculture has fallen dramatically in recent decades.