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}} ''Cabo de Gata-Níjar'' Natural Park in the south-eastern corner of Spain, is Andalucia's largest coastal protected area, a wild and isolated landscape with some of Europe's most original geological features. It is the only region in Europe with a true hot desert climate. The eponymous mountain range of the ''Sierra del Cabo de Gata'' with its highest peak El Fraile is Spain's largest volcanic rock formation with sharp peaks and crags in red/ochre-hues. It falls steeply to the Mediterranean Sea creating jagged high cliffs, which are riven by gullies leading to hidden coves with white sandy beaches, some of the most beautiful in Andalucia. Offshore are numerous tiny rocky islands and, underwater extensive coral reefs teeming with marine life. Its climate is arid to the extent of being the driest location in Europe and the continent´s only subtropical or "warm" desert, with rainfall below a year and average yearly temperatures above . In 1997 it was designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. In 2001 it was included among the Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance. In 2010 it was proposed as a dump for nuclear waste.〔 ("Nuclear dump study starts in Cabo de Gata" )〕 The name Cabo de Gata'' relates to the mineral agate which used to be mined in this area. ==Geology, geography, climate and vegetation == Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park is characterised by volcanic rock formations - lava flows, volcanic domes, volcanic calderas. The park joined UNESCO's Global Geoparks Network in 2006, and is also a member of the European Geoparks Network. 〔(European geoparks website )〕 Between the village of San Miguel and the Cabo de Gata point are salt flats (''Las Salinas de Cabo de Gata'') separated from the sea by a sand bar. The salt flats are a Ramsar site. Its coasts have seagrass beds of the ''Posidonia'' genus and offshore coral reefs, both dramatically increasing the numbers of resident and transient marine species. A part of the total designated protected area is a marine reserve, extending underwater to a depth of . The area has an arid climate with an average temperature of about and an average annual rainfall of , recorded at the Faro del Cabo de Gata ''(36°43'18.8 N, 2°11'34.69" W)'' during the period 1961-1990.〔Capel Molina, J.J. (1995) ''Mapa pluviométrico de España Peninsular y Baleares (en el periodo internacional 1961-1990) Investigaciones Geográficas nº 13: 29-466ISSN 0213-4691'' (pdf ) Idioma: español. Acceso: 3/7/2009.〕 The characteristic vegetation in the terrestrial zone is drought-adapted flora: largely agave, prickly pear, dwarf fan palms and a number of xerophytes (some of which are endemic). There is ''Posidonia'' seagrass in the marine zone. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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