Costa Blanca Information

The Costa Blanca (White Coast) refers to the over 200 kilometres of coastline on the central to South Eastern area of Spain. Alicante in Spanish (or Alacant Valencian) is a province of Spain, in the southern part of the Valencian Community. It is sandwiched by the provinces of Murcia on the southwest, Albacete on the west, Valencia on the north, and the Mediterranean Sea on the east. The province gets its name from its capital, the city of Alicante

The name “Costa Blanca” was devised as a promotional name used by British European Airways when they launched their air service between London and Valencia in 1957. Since then, it has a well developed tourism industry and is a massively popular destination for British and German tourists. It extends from the towns of Denia in the north, beyond which lies the Costa dels Tarongers, to Torrevieja in the south, beyond which lies the Costa Calida. It includes the major tourist destinations of Benidorm and Alicante.

HISTORY

The Iberians were the oldest documented people living in what today is the Alicante province. Belonging to these there are several archaeological sites from which is specially known the one in La Serreta (near Alcoy) because the longest inscriptions remaining in the undeciphered Iberian language were found there. Along the coast and contemporary to the Iberians, the seafaring Phoenicians (in Guardamar) and Greeks (along the coastal section to the north of the Alicante city) settled stable trading colonies and interacted with the former. After a brief Carthaginian period, the Romans took over. Romanization in this part of Iberia was intense, the Via Augusta communicated this part of the Empire to the metropoli and so several cities thrived, from which the one known as Ilici Augusta (now Elche) even reached the status of colonia.

After a brief period of Visigothic ruling, the area was taken by Islamic armies and became a part of Al Andalus. From the 13th century, kings like Ferdinand III of Castile, James I of Aragon, Alfonso X of Castile, James II of Aragon reconquered the cities that Moors occupied. What today is the Alicante province was initially split between the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon by means of the Treaty of Almizra, however later on the whole territory became under the control of the Kingdom of Valencia, which was a component Kingdom of the Crown of Aragon.

In 711 A.D. the Moors invaded Spain through Gibraltar and would occupy the region of Alicante by 718 A.D. Their occupation was to last nearly four hundred years and would mould the landscape of the region. The Moors introduced irrigation and the planting of oranges, peaches and almond orchards. The terraces seen on the hillsides throughout the region are an everlasting Moor legacy. The Moors would not be completely expelled until 1492, when Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic monarchs, finally took control of Granada.

In 1095 Spain became part of the North African Berber Empire and for another four hundred years the Moors and Christians would fight over control of Spanish soil. Alicante was gradually regained from the Moors in 1248 by Jaime I of Aragon. After their expulsion, the Moors continued to attack Spain. Between 1500-c1650 Berber pirate attacks were frequent all along the Mediterranean coastline.

The first Spanish constitution was written in 1812 and following this the provincial boundaries were established, establishing the regions including Alicante and Murcia as they are today. In 1923, Miguel Primo de Rivera took control of Spain as a dictator, eventually forcing Alfonso XIII into exile. The Spanish Civil War, (1936-1939) would divide the country. Alicante and Murcia would remain supporters of the Republican movement. In 1939, General Francisco Franco, the leader of the Nationalists took control of Spain. During the 1960’s and 70’s tourism exploded throughout the region to nearly 4,000,000 visitors a year.

TOPOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE

The province is mountainous, specially to the north and west, whereas it is mostly flat to the south, in the Vega Baja del Segura area; the most elevated points in the province are Aitana (1,558 m), Puig Campana (1,410 m), Moncabrer (1,389 m), Carrascal de Alcoy (1,354 m), Maigmó (1,296 m), Sierra de Crevillente (835 m) and El Montgó (753 m). All of these peaks are a part of the Subbaetic Range.

The extensive coastline extends from Cabo de la Nao (Nao Cape) in the north to almost reaching the Mar Menor (Minor Sea) in the south. With regard to water sources, due to the dry rain regime there are no major rivers, but mostly ramblas (dry rivers which fill in with water when torrential rains occur). The only remarkable streams are the Vinalopó, Serpis, and, specially, the river Segura. Other minor seasonal creeks (some completely dried out in summer) are Girona, Algar, Amadorio and Ebo. There are remarkable saline wetlands and marshlands along the coast such El Fondó and the former wetlands and now salt evaporation ponds in Santa Pola and Torrevieja. All of them are key Ramsar Sites which make the Alicante province of high relevance for both migratory and resident seabirds and waterbirds. Important coastal dunes are present in the Guardamar areas which were planted with thousands of pine trees during the 19th century in order to protect the Ville from the dunes advancing, which has created now an area of remarkable ecologic value.

The climate is strikingly diverse for such a reduced area. Three major areas can be cited and most of the province belongs to a Semiarid climate. It roughly goes along the coastal plain from Vila Joiosa through the southernmost border (cities included here are, amongst others, Alicante, Elche, Orihuela and Torrevieja). Summers are very long, hot to very hot and very dry, winters are cool to mild and its most prominent feature is very scarce precipitation, typically below 300mm. per year and most likely to happen during spring and autumn. The reasons for this lack of precipitation is mostly the marked Rain shadow effect caused by hills to the west of the Alicante province (and, to a lesser degree, those in the northern part of the province which, in turn, enhance the inverse Orographic lift effect around Cabo de la Nao). Most of its few rainy days happen during Autumn and Spring. The predominant vegetation in this part of the province is Matorral Scrublands including thyme, esparto, juniper and the like.

Proper Mediterranean climate is present in the northeastern areas around Cabo de la Nao, mostly to its North but also to its South, in diminishing grades until disappearing slightly north of Benidorm. It roughly goes along the coastal plain from the northern border of the province through the Benidorm area. The north slopes of the mountains in the Marina Alta have a remarkably wetter micro climate which allows to accumulate an average of up to 900mm. due to the Orographic lift phenomenon with most of the precipitation occurring in Autumn and Spring. The precipitation in this area is an average four times the one of the semiarid South, with this big precipitation gap occurring in a matter of just 100 km.

The vegetation of this part is an enriched version of the Matorral shrubland and also Mediterranean pine woods. The Alicante province also has a mostly dry Mediterranean to Continental climate transition zone. These are the innermost part of the Province (for example Villena) and some closer to the sea but at a higher elevation (for example Alcoy). Here winters are cool to cold and a few days of snow are not unusual; summers are mild to hot and rains at about 500 mm average and slightly more evenly distributed through the year than in the previous mentioned areas. The innermost part of this domain is more quite dry while the mountainous part reach slightly higher precipitation figures which allow Kermes Oak woods to thrive, such as the one in La Carrasqueta or in the Mariola range, both near Alcoy.

The main industries in Alicante province are, in the primary sector, intensive agriculture, specially in the fertile Vega Baja del Segura, Camp d’Elx