Learn about the Area of Murcia

Murcia

Spain is consisted of 45 towns which are divided into 7 districts, with the capital city being Murcia. Murcia’s population consists of over one million people.

The region of Murcia offers visitors many contrasts in terms of landscapes. The area consists of mountains and plains, beaches and woodlands, and semi-arid & irrigated lands. One third of the region is over 2,000 feet, with the highest mountain reaching 6,500 feet and there’s over 100 miles of coastline.

But unlike the land, there is one thing that is constant in this region and that’s the sun. Murcia offers nearly 3,000 hours of sunlight a year, making this a major tourist attraction area.

Coastline

The Costa Calida offers two seas, the Mar Menor and the Mediterranean, both of which are located on the same coastline. The Mar Menor was originally an open bay of some miles but is now virtually enclosed and provides an ideal location for sunbathing and water sports because of its shallowness.

The coastline also ranges from tall, impressive cliffs to inviting beaches of white sand that seem to go on and on. But the coast is not solely about beaches and water sports; there are protected natural areas such as the salt marshes of San Pedro, the wildlife reserve of Calblanque, and the village of Cabo de Palos.

Wildlife and Countryside

Murcia offers a variety of landscapes and habitats. In a relatively small area you could pass from mountains to arid, steppe-like plains, to the forests of the Betis Sierras and then to the rich meadows of the Segura basin and finally to the 100 miles of coastline.

This environmental diversity can be represented in the 19 specially protected countryside and wildlife areas. The most important ones are: Parque Natural de Sierra Espuña, the regional parks of Carrascoy and El Valle, Sierra de Pila, the salt marsh of Don Pedro del Pinatar, Cablanque and Cape Cobo, and Calnegre Point, the Nature Reserve of Sotos, and the riparian forests of Cañaverosa.