Exploring our environment
Hecho por: Mar Ledesma García y Sofía Isabel Venettoni González. 3º ESO B.
CABO DE GATA
It is located in the extreme southeast of the province of Almeria. This space, declared a biosphere reserve in 1997, covers the entire Cabo de Gata-Nijar Natural Park, as well as part of its surroundings. In addition, the Biosphere Reserve has been declared a Special Protection Area for Birds (ZEPA) and is included as a Wet Area of International Importance within the Ramsar Convention.
salt flats of cabo de gata
The salt flats are the only ones that remain in industrial activity in Eastern Andalusia and apart from their productive value, 40,000 tons of salt per year, they have a much greater ecological value as it is the habitat of a multitude of animal and plant species.
LANDFORM
Its strech of coastline is marked out by cliffs, coves and beaches. The Sierra of Cabo de Gata has volcanic origin and its landform is characterized by containing pitons, dikes, calderas, cornices and domes. This particular geoligical complex results in one of the coastal strips with the greatest scenic value in the Spanish Mediterranean. The coastal salt pans are located in the southern area of the reserve, an enclave of vital importance for numerous migratory birds. The summer season stands out for the arrivalof various species, including flamingos and seagulls. The vegetation stands out for its scrub and herbaceous formations, many of which are native.
PHYSICAL MAP
Exogenous geological processes
This landscape was formed approximately 12 million years ago. However, the eruptions of material overlapped one on top of the other and petrified almost instantly, due to much of the area still being below sea level. In Cabo de Gata there are vestiges of volcanic activity, erosion and sedimentation. The volcanism is the most important in Spain. The most frequent in this area is the formation of lava domes. The volcanic crater (Valle del Rodalquilar), fossil oolitic dunes (El Playazo) and volcanic domes are also formed.
geological history
Cabo de Gata constitudes a small emerged part of an extensive volcanic chain, between 6 and 15 million years old, located between Spain and North Africa, which currently appears almost entirely submerged, only emerging in Cabo de de Gata and on the island of Alboran. This geological configuration has enabled the formation of one of the most unic fossil volcanic complexes in Europe. A landscape of various shapes and colors, and that shows an extensive range of rocks with different types of composition, textures and structures. We didn't expect it to be the most unic fossil volcanic complexes in Europe, at the same time that we didn't know the range of rocks and shapes. We knew more or less the rest of the information.
LANDform IN THE FUTURE
It is most likely that in the future Cabo de Gata will be afected by climate and global change. Due to the drought the vegetation will be reduced and the species of animals that migrate will also be fewer and both plants and animals typical of this protected space will begin to become extinct. Also the salt flats of Cabo de Gata are running out of water which is a very serious problem that will affect much more in the future. At the same time the tides are falling.
Thanks for your attention!