Nature around Tarifa, Spain

Nature

The Cadiz coastal area is not only situated at the meeting of two continents, but also its shores are wetted by two seas with very different characteristics.
Here the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean communicate through the Strait of Gibraltar.

The existence of marine currents in both directions makes easy the interchange of species, enriching both the faun and the vegetation of the Cadiz waters.

At the same time the diversity of the sea beds off the coast increases the variety of habitats and, for this, of aquatic species.

Due to its geographic position, the coast around the Straits is a zone of convergence of different migration routes, both of terrestrial and sea birds.

There is also an abundance of different fishes that move seasonally from one sea to the other including whales and other cetaceans.
'Los Alcornocales'
Look also at the AGADEN web site (only in Spanish).

"Los Alcornocales" Natural Park

The Park extends over 170,025 hectares of land in the eastern part of the Cádiz province and the west of the province of Málaga.
The most characteristic feature of the geography is the series of narrow river valleys, known as the 'canutos', or tubes, concentrated towards the Park's southern boundary.
'Los Alcornocales' means 'the corks oaks', and this is in fact the most abundant form of vegetation, growing in great, leafy thickets over extensive tracts of land and playing a leading role in the landscape; these are Europe's most extensive Mediterranean woodlands. Where it is

Gall oaks, wild olives, palmettos, rhododendrons, elms sarsaparillas and white poplars flourish in the scrub together with turkey oaks and heather, strawberry trees and hardy myrtles.

The particular microclimate in the area of the river valley has provided conditions in which a relict vegetation, the Laurisilva of the Tertiary period, has survived and flourished, including such species as rhododendron, alder, laurel, ash, hazel, holly, butcher's broom and variety of ferns, some of them of enormous botanical interest.
On the mountain top, by way of contrast, only highland scrub grows: the East wind prevents the growth of trees. 'Los Alcornocales'

The park's fauna is rich and varied.
Of particular interest among the ungulate mammals are the deer and the roe-deer, and among the predators the fox, the genet, the mongoose, the otter, the polecat, the weasel, the wild-cat and the badger.

Among the wild birds there is an important population of birds of prey, headed by the short-toed eagle, the griffin vulture, the booted eagle, the Imperial eagle and the golden eagle, together with the eagle owl, the peregrine falcon, the Egyptian vulture, the goshawk, the sparrow hawk and one of the largest communities of tawny vulture. 'Los Alcornocales'

The granivorous birds are represented by the robin, the woodcock, the wren, the long-tailed tit and the Great tit, and the insectivores by the nightingale, the bee-eater, the swallow and the swift.

The Park provides the opportunity for a great variety of outdoor activities, among them: walking, climbing, potholing and water-sports in the various reservoirs, as well as fine routes to travel on horseback or mountain bike; or simply enjoy the wonderful views offered by the Park's many vantage points, such as the natural balconies at Hoyo Don Pedro, the Sierra of Ojén or the Juncal Plains.

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