{"id":2261,"date":"2020-01-05T17:36:54","date_gmt":"2020-01-05T16:36:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/\/\/litoral\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T13:48:04","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T12:48:04","slug":"sea-coast-in-andalusia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/en\/blog\/sea-coast-in-andalusia\/","title":{"rendered":"Sea coast in Andalusia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Transition territories between the sea and the continent: contrasting and extreme ecosystems.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/P1210070-e1580853461939.jpg\" class=\"lazyload\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/P1210070-e1580853461939.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>The Flysch are sedimentary rocks accumulated in a common closed oceanic basin near <a href=\"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/en\/blog\/canton-campo-de-gibraltar\/\">Gibraltar<\/a>. The rocky coast is colonized by algae and marine invertebrates.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The coast is the narrow<strong> contact zone between the sea and the continent<\/strong>, a transitional territory that not only passes from the liquid and salty condition to the terrestrial and weak mineralization. It offers a whole range of <g id=\"gid_1\">intermediate conditions<\/g> that favor the presence of <g id=\"gid_2\">species adapted and specialized to each of the<\/g> existing <g id=\"gid_2\">ecological niches<\/g>. Therefore, it is not surprising that the coast is one of the most biodiverse areas.    <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is easy to observe at the edge of the sea a succession of microhabitats <strong>ordered mainly by the rhythm of the tides<\/strong>. The Atlantic slope has tides of greater amplitude than the Mediterranean. The main differential element is found in the substrate of the coast that receives these tides. We can distinguish <strong>rocky coasts and sandy coasts<\/strong>, without forgetting to mention the <a href=\"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/en\/blog\/wetlands-in-andalusia\/\">estuaries<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/en\/blog\/wetlands-in-andalusia\/\"> (&#8216;water coasts&#8217;).<\/a>    <\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/P1200846-e1580853475925.jpg\" class=\"lazyload\" alt=\"maritime coastline in Andalusia\" title=\"\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/P1200846-e1580853475925.jpg\" alt=\"maritime coastline in Andalusia\" title=\"\"><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>The famous Cape Trafalgar: one of the most beautiful beaches of the Andalusian coastline and a picturesque lighthouse perched in the middle of the dunes.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-accent-5-background-color has-background\">In the sea<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>INLAND SEA<\/strong>. The submerged rocks serve mainly as a substrate for countless <g id=\"gid_1\">macroscopic marine algae (<g id=\"gid_2\">Fucus, Laminaria<\/g>)<\/g>, unable to adhere to loose and unstable substrates such as sand and pebbles. On the contrary, sandy seabeds have been colonized by a small group of species that also form<strong>seagrass<\/strong> <strong>meadows <\/strong> such as the <strong><em>Posidonia<\/em><\/strong> <strong><em>oceanica<\/em><\/strong> and <strong><em>Zoostera<\/em><\/strong><strong><em> marina, <\/em><\/strong>very specialized aquatic flowering plants<strong>(<\/strong><strong>phanerogams<\/strong>) close to the Arums.   These habitats provide refuge for a <strong>rich marine fauna of <\/strong><strong>invertebrates and fish<\/strong>, including shrimp, crabs, starfish, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, sea urchins, brittle stars, sea hares, nacras, cuttlefish, octopus, cnidarians, sponges, polychaete worms, bivalve mollusks and star coral.  <\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/dog-walker-11.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-125 lazyload\" title=\"\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1349\" height=\"95\" src=\"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/dog-walker-11.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-125\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/dog-walker-11.png 1349w, https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/dog-walker-11-380x27.png 380w, https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/dog-walker-11-800x56.png 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1349px) 100vw, 1349px\" \/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the <strong>EXPOSED ROCKS<\/strong>, in the breaker zone, live invertebrates capable of adapting to the <strong>constant changes in water levels<\/strong> from the possibility of being completely submerged to being completely exposed to the sun and air with the tides going out. We find sea acorns, sea scales, limpets, periwinkles, crabs, mussels, chitons, anemones, hermit crabs&#8230; Higher up, where the tide does not reach, lichens grow, pioneers that announce the beginning of the terrestrial environment.   <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-accent-5-background-color has-background\">The coast<\/h2>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/dscn4846-e1579087279346.jpg\" class=\"lazyload\" alt=\"\" title=\"dscn4846\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/dscn4846-e1579087279346.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"dscn4846\"><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Gulls are the most representative seabirds of the coast.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>COASTAL SANDBANKS<\/strong><strong><\/strong><strong>.<\/strong> Long Atlantic beaches and dunes: These are dynamic and complex ecosystems affected by the action of wind and sea currents. They present <strong>extreme conditions<\/strong> due to their low capacity to retain water, the scarcity of nutrients, the high surface temperatures, the mobility of the substrate and the concentration of salts.   <\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/P1240722-e1580853503829.jpg\" class=\"lazyload\" alt=\"Lis maritime (Pancratium maritimum)\" title=\"Sea daffodil (Pancratium maritimum)\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/P1240722-e1580853503829.jpg\" alt=\"Lis maritime (Pancratium maritimum)\" title=\"Sea daffodil (Pancratium maritimum)\"><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>The sea lily (Pancratium maritimum) is a perennial herbaceous plant among the most emblematic of the flora of sands and dunes.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <g id=\"gid_0\">herbaceous vegetation helps to fix the dunes<\/g>, highlighting typical species such as: <strong>sea lily<\/strong> ( <g id=\"gid_2\">Ammophila<\/g><g id=\"gid_3\"> arenaria<\/g>), <strong>sea lily<\/strong> ( <g id=\"gid_5\">Pancratium<\/g> <g id=\"gid_6\">maritimum<\/g>), <strong>sea hornworts<\/strong> ( <g id=\"gid_8\">Lotus <\/g><g id=\"gid_9\">creticus<\/g>), <strong>cottony <\/strong>(     <em>Achillea<\/em> <em>maritima<\/em><em> = <\/em><em>Otanthus<\/em> <em>maritimus<\/em>), <strong>sea poppy<\/strong> ( <g id=\"gid_6\">Glaucium<\/g> <g id=\"gid_7\">flavum<\/g>), <strong>sea blonde<\/strong> ( <g id=\"gid_9\">Crucianella<\/g><g id=\"gid_10\"> maritimus<\/g>), <strong>Cadiz viburnum<\/strong> ( <em>Echium<\/em> <em>gaditanum<\/em><em>)<\/em>.    <\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/dog-walker-11.png\" class=\"lazyload\" alt=\"The image has an empty ALT attribute; its file name is dog-walker-11.png\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/dog-walker-11.png\" alt=\"The image has an empty ALT attribute; its file name is dog-walker-11.png\"><\/noscript><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A little further inland <\/strong>grow coastal juniper groves of <strong>maritime juniper<\/strong> ( <a href=\"http:\/\/www.juntadeandalucia.es\/medioambiente\/portal_web\/web\/temas_ambientales\/biodiversidad\/5_red_centros\/2_red_jardines_botanicos\/00_jardines\/06_dunas_odiel\/planta_mes_dunas_odiel\/ODIEL_OCT_2019.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Juniperus oxycedrus macrocarpa<\/a>) and <strong>marine juniper<\/strong> (Juniperus phoenicea turbinata) accompanied by shrubs such as <em>Halimium<\/em> <em>halimifolium<\/em>, <g id=\"gid_3\">Cistus<\/g> <g id=\"gid_4\">libanotis<\/g>, <em>Thymus<\/em> <em>mastichina<\/em>, etc., which are soon replaced by coastal <strong>pine<\/strong> forests<em>(Pinus<\/em><em> pinea<\/em>).      <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is not uncommon to observe impressive <strong>black beetles<\/strong>, belonging to the Families Tenebrionidae<em>(Pimelia<\/em>), Carabidae<em>(Scarites occidentalis<\/em>) or Scarabaeidae<em>(Scarabaeus<\/em>). Shorebirds par excellence are the <strong>gulls and terns<\/strong>, although the privileged position of the cliffs also allows you to easily observe other seabirds and waders.   <\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img_7964.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3896 lazyload\" title=\"\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img_7964.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3896\" title=\"\"><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Landscape of dunes and stone pines, typical of the Spanish Mediterranean coast, illustrating the &#8220;struggle&#8221; between the ever-changing sands and the inexorable force of the plant kingdom.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, it is worth mentioning the <strong>dunes <\/strong><strong>of<\/strong> <strong>the coast of the province of <\/strong><strong>Huelva<\/strong> and the Do\u00f1ana area, with a length of about 100 km that make up the most important dune system in Europe. As for coastal cliffs, let us mention the <strong>Bre\u00f1a de Barbate<\/strong>, near the famous <strong>Cape Trafalgar <\/strong>and <strong>Cerro Maro Gordo in Malaga near the coast of Granada.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/dog-walker-11.png\" class=\"lazyload\" alt=\"The image has an empty ALT attribute; its file name is dog-walker-11.png\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/dog-walker-11.png\" alt=\"The image has an empty ALT attribute; its file name is dog-walker-11.png\"><\/noscript><\/figure>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-accent-1-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1\"><strong>Tajo de Barbate, the most spectacular cliffs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-794e3cfa wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:40%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/P1210153-e1580853532243.jpg\" class=\"lazyload\" alt=\"Bre\u00f1a, Maritime cliff of the Tajo de Barbate\" title=\"\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/P1210153-e1580853532243.jpg\" alt=\"Bre\u00f1a, Maritime cliff of the Tajo de Barbate\" title=\"\"><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:60%\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong>highest sea cliff in Andalusia<\/strong>, with its 106 meters above sea level, is formed by calcarenites (compacted limestone sands). In the background looms the <strong>observation tower<\/strong> (&#8216;Torre del Tajo&#8217;) that reminds us of the past presence of pirates on the Spanish coast. More curiously, the Tajo is home to a unique <strong>colony<\/strong> of <strong>Little Egret<\/strong>.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><em><\/em><em>I love birding, but I don&#8217;t look for rarities &#8230; although I understand their appeal to some birders. That said, I am happy to have seen a small flock of <strong>Black Terns off the coast of Huelva<\/strong>. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Transition territories between the sea and the continent: contrasting and extreme ecosystems. The Andalusian coastline: dunes, sandbanks and coastal cliffs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26586,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[594],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ecosystems-in-andalusia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2261\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g3-guides.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}