Ruta 7: Salt Lakes and Lagoons
Mixture of the blues of the sky and the sea, the whites of the clouds and the mountains of salt.
This 71 km route runs along the southern end of the province of Alicante, along its coast line, from the Torrevieja and La Mata lagoons to the wetland of the Clot de Galvany, passing through the abandoned meanders and the mouth of the Segura river or the salt lakes of Santa Pola.
It is a journey in which the aim is to show the transformation of the natural environment through human intervention.
Lagoons converted into salt mines, former cultivated meanders, artificially channeled sections of the Segura river, where old restored waterwheels attest to the secular use of its waters, its mouth, conditioned as access to a marina, or the natural environment of the Clot de Galvany, which serves as a hub for a tourist route in which we can find old bunkers of the civil war.
All this, together with the minimum difficulty to make the route, make this a clear example of a route of high didactic value.
The total route does not include visits , which must be made on foot, to the wetlands of
- La Mata.
- Clot de Galvany.
Highlighted Places of Hydrogeological Interest
Clot de Galvany
The Clot de Galvany is located at the edge of the municipal districts of Elche and Santa Pola, covering an extensive depression that forms the wet complex of salt flats and ponds of Els Bassars-Clot de Galvany.
It is a Municipal Natural Park since 2005, recently recognized as LIC and ZEPA, which encompasses several ecosystems such as wetlands, salt flats, mountains, hills, a coastal front with a dune system and beaches, and a marine platform, part of it with the presence of posidonia and another rocky part with an important benthic fauna.
El Hondo de Elche
The wetland of El Hondo, protected under the figure of Natural Park, is located in the depression of “Elche-Bajo Segura”, in the Betica mountain range. Specifically, between the municipalities of Elche and Crevillente (about 8 km from the former and about 6 km from the latter).
It has great ecological value due to the diversity of bird species and flora present in it.
It is internationally recognized by the RAMSAR agreement and included as a Special Protection Area for Birds (ZEPA) and Place of Community Interest (LIC).
Other places of Hydrological Interest
La Mata and Torrevieja Lagoons
The Natural Park of the Lagunas de La Mata and Torrevieja is made up of the two sheets of water, La Mata (700 ha) and Torrevieja (1,400 ha), and the so-called round (1,600 ha), which are the lands surrounding these flooded areas.
The two lagoons are physically separated from each other by a small elevation, the Chaparral syncline, although they are connected through an artificial canalization.
Both of them communicate with the sea through two artificial channels (acquions) that allow the entry of seawater, by gravity, since the two lagoons are below sea level. Together they make up a salt exploitation unit.
Santa Pola Salt Lakes
This wetland located in the lower part of the Vinalopó River, near the town of Santa Pola, is protected under the figure of a Natural Park.
It constitutes an aquatic ecosystem of great importance where birds have a refuge in their migration between the European and African continent, as well as temporary shelter in their migration to the French Camargue and the Fuente de Piedra lagoon in Spain, places of great importance on the Mediterranean coast for reproduction and breeding of the pink flamingo, a species that stands out among the many that live in these places.
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