Protected territory
Murcia keeps natural secrets
Explore natural diversity in three protected treasures
Protected Landscape of the Barrancos de GebasFrom this natural space you can travel to the moon. The Gebas Ravines, between the municipalities of Alhama de Murcia and Librilla, surprise with their colors, shapes and contrasts. Its stark slopes with the backdrop of the waters of the Algeciras reservoir, leave no one indifferent. The Barrancos de Gebas are the counterpoint of the environmental contrasts of the peninsular southeast, few places have such a dense forest as the Sierra Espuña, in front of a sub-desert landscape as the one of Gebas. Despite this appearance, the area is home to very interesting communities of fauna and flora because of their adaptations to live in very difficult conditions such as low rainfall and high insolation.Thanks to all these values, the Gebas Ravines were declared a Protected Landscape in 1995. In addition, its high geological and geomorphological value represents one of the best examples of badlands in the Region of Murcia, which has led to its classification as a Site of Geological Interest (LIG).
Protected Landscape of the Guadalentín salt marshes
At the bottom of the Guadalentín Valley, between Sierra Espuña and Sierra de Carrascoy, is this Protected Landscape, camouflaged among a wide agricultural mosaic of extensive irrigated crops, tree crops and human constructions, where the natural vegetation of the area appears in its greatest expression: the salt marsh.It is a saline plain around different fluvial courses, with the Las Salinas and La Quebrada de Beatriz wadis standing out, or the well-known Guadalentín riverbed, which is the most important and gives it its name. The protected area corresponds to four isolated areas of salt marshes, considered relicts of a much larger area of salt marshes in past decades, and is a Site of Community Importance (SCI) because seven habitats of Community interest are represented here, with the salt steppes being of priority interest. It is also designated as a Special Protection Area for Birds (SPA) because of the presence of the stilt (Himantopus himantopus) and ortega (Pterocles orientalis).
Carrascoy and El Valle Regional Park
It extends through several municipalities, including Alhama de Murcia. This Natural Area is part of the Natura 2000 Network as it is considered a Site of Community Interest (SCI) and shares part of the ZEPA (Special Protection Area for Birds) territory due to the presence of the eagle owl (Bubo bubo), a protected shelter for other birds of prey such as the Bonelli's eagle (Hierastus fasciatus) or the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos).With 17,410 hectares, it is made up of a series of pre-coastal mountain ranges located in the central-eastern portion of the Region of Murcia. It geographically delimits the Segura Valley and the Mar Menor Basin, and could be understood as a natural and historical border between the Huerta de Murcia and the Campo de Cartagena. In addition, the Puerto de la Cadena wadi, an area of passage of the first civilizations until the present day, divides the Regional Park into two sectors: El Valle and Carrascoy. These mountain ranges reach their maximum heights with the peaks of Carrascoy (1,065 meters) and El Relojero (609 meters) respectively, being also characteristic for its strategic location the Cabezo del Puerto.