A small natural paradise bathed by the Mediterranean Sea would be
the perfect definition of the Almería-Cabo de Gata-Níjar
region, the least developed and most untouched area of the province.
This landscape, extending from the beaches of the capital city to
the coast of the Natural Park that bears its name, is simply spectacular.
Deserving of special mention are places like Arrecife de las Sirenas
along which we find fishing villages that are a delight to simply
walk through just to admire their traditions and
customs.
The Natural Park of Cabo de Gata-Nijar, with one
of the most beautiful and ecologically rich coastal strips in the
western Mediterranean, is the first Natural land and sea park in
Andalusia.
With an area of 34,000 hectares, to which a sea strip a mile wide
(12,000 hectares) is added, it is located in the southeastern point
of the province of Almeria, to the south of the area of Campo de
Nijar.
The fundamental nucleus of the Natural Park are the Cabo de Gata
mountains, a volcanic mountainous massif whose southwestern flank
falls directly over the Mediterranean sea forming abrupt cliffs
interrupted by small coves at the mouths of the principal gullies
which erode the sides of the mountain range.
The northwestern flank rises up over the neocene depression of the
Campo de Nijar and is also deeply dissected by gullies whose alluvions
have formed extensive alluvial fan-shaped deposits as they leave
the mountains which together with the deposits from the mountain
sides soften the contact between the mountain range and the depression.
The strong personality of this natural space is derived, in essence,
from the volcanic origin of two thirds of its surface area and from
the demanding conditions imposed upon it by a local climate which
is exceptionally dry and from the obvious deficiencies in the land.
As a consequence of its volcanic structure, forming part of the
neocene volcanism of calcoalkaline character of the southeast of
the Iberian Peninsula, the mountain range has ended up as a group
of peaks, sharp points, crests and domes which give rise to a craggy
broken up landscape.
The Natural Park includes, likewise, a coastal border of saltworks
of 300 hectares which, due to their geographical location, are the
obligatory stopping place between Europe and Africa for numerous
birds on their migratory routes and they are also an ideal nesting
habitat for other species.
Almeria province
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