Cíes Islands
Encyclopedia
The Cíes Islands are an archipelago
off the coast of Pontevedra
in Galicia (Spain), in the mouth of the Ría de Vigo
. They belong to the parish
of San Francisco de Afora, in the municipality
of Vigo
. They were declared a Nature Reserve
in 1980 and are included in the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park
(Parque Nacional Marítimo-Terrestre das Islas Atlánticas de Galicia) created in 2002.
The Cíes consist of three islands, Monteagudo ("Sharp Mount" or North Island), do Faro ("Lighthouse Island", or Isla do Medio, "Middle Island") and San Martiño ("Saint Martin" or South Island).
Monteagudo is separated from the Morrazo peninsula
by the North Canal while San Martiño is separated from the coast of Santoulo cape
(mount Ferro) by the Freu da Porta Strait
. The Do Faro island is linked to the North island by an accumulation of sand 1200 m (3,937 ft) long known as Rodas beach
, in the Eastern side of the island. During high tide
the sea flows between the islands in the Western side and, blocked by the beach it fills the lagoon
between the sandy area and the rocks. The highest peak is the Alto das Cíes (197 m) in Monteagudo.
The islands formed by the end of the Tertiary
, when some parts of the coast sank, creating the rías
("estuaries"). All three islands are the peaks of the coastal mountains now partially under the sea and are formed mainly of granitic rock.
The land is mountainous with rough, nearly vertical cliffs of more than 100 m (328 ft) on the Western side, and numerous caves (furnas) formed by erosion
from the sea and the wind. The Eastern side is less steep, covered by woods
and bushes and protected from the Atlantic winds, allowing the formation of beaches and dunes.
Atlantic squalls pass over the islands, unloading as they collide with the coast. Therefore the Cíes receive more or less half of the rain the rest of the Rías Baixas
coast receive.
to the central Government. The Spanish Congress of Deputies
signed a definite agreement in June 2002, creating the National Land-Marine Park of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia, formed by a number of archipelago
s, islands and cays, namely the Cíes, Ons
, Sálvora
, Noro
, Vionta
, Cortegada
and the Malveiras.
The marine part of the Park is measured as a 100-meter-wide strip from the shore in low tide. Since 1992 underwater fishing
is forbidden in the islands. National Parks are nature areas nearly untransformed by human activity that, based on their landscape
, geological or ecosystems possess aesthetic, ecologic
, educative
or scientific values worth of special protection. Therefore, the activities that alter or endanger the stability of the ecosystem are forbidden. Some traditional activities (like traditional fishing) are allowed as long as they are compatible with the environment and the preservation of natural resources.
Since 1988 the Islands have a status of ZEPA (Zona de Especial Protección para las Aves, Spanish for Special Protection Area
for Birds), and they are included in the Natura 2000
network, which develops European Union Directive
s in relation to habitats and bird
s.
It contains one of the main colonies of the Yellow-footed Gull
.
The ZEPAs are protected mainly to avoid pollution
and general deterioration of the places used by birds permanently or during their migrations.
In summer, boats link Monteagudo with the ports of Vigo, Baiona and Cangas.
There is a camping area
but permissions have to be reserved at the Vigo port.
A supermarket, a visitor center and a restaurant cater to the visitors.
There are no waste bins in the islands.
Visitors are required to take their litter back to the mainland.
species, like gorse
, broom
, asparagus
, spurge flax (Thymelaea
) or rockrose (Cistaceae
).
The woodland
has suffered bigger alterations, since most autochthonous species like the common fig
or the pyrenaean oak (Quercus pyrenaica) are now reduced to symbolic representation by the reforestation of nearly one fourth of the surface with pine trees and eucalyptus
. On the other hand, the strong winds with a high content in salt act as barrier in the development of the trees.
Some rare and representative coastal species do grow in the dunes, beaches and cliffs under very extreme climatic conditions, as the sea pink (Armeria
pungens, (in galician
herba de namorar or "love plant"), locally endangered, and an important number of camariñas (galician common name for Corema album
), an endemic
species from the Iberian Peninsula
western coast.
Typically marshland flora (like rushes
) grow in the area of the lagoon.
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
off the coast of Pontevedra
Pontevedra
Pontevedra is a city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the comarca and province of Pontevedra, in Galicia . It is also the capital of its own municipality which is, in fact, often considered as an extension of the actual city...
in Galicia (Spain), in the mouth of the Ría de Vigo
Ria de Vigo
Vigo Ria is a ria in Galicia, Spain. It is the southern most ria of the Rias Baixas.The following German U-Boats are reported to have been sunk somewhere in the ria: the U-523, sunk August 25, 1943 , and the U-506, sunk at 15:50 hrs on July 12, 1943 .-External links:*...
. They belong to the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of San Francisco de Afora, in the municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
of Vigo
Vigo
Vigo is a city and municipality in north-west Spain, in Galicia, situated on the ria of the same name on the Atlantic Ocean.-Population:...
. They were declared a Nature Reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
in 1980 and are included in the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park
Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park
The Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park is the only national park located in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It comprises the archipelagos of Cíes, Ons, Sálvora and Cortegada.- External links :* *...
(Parque Nacional Marítimo-Terrestre das Islas Atlánticas de Galicia) created in 2002.
The archipelago
Monteagudo is separated from the Morrazo peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
by the North Canal while San Martiño is separated from the coast of Santoulo cape
Cape
Cape can be used to describe any sleeveless outer garment, such as a poncho, but usually it is a long garment that covers only the back half of the wearer, fastening around the neck. They were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon, and have had periodic...
(mount Ferro) by the Freu da Porta Strait
Strait
A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...
. The Do Faro island is linked to the North island by an accumulation of sand 1200 m (3,937 ft) long known as Rodas beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
, in the Eastern side of the island. During high tide
High Tide
High Tide was a band formed in 1969 by Tony Hill , Simon House , Peter Pavli and Roger Hadden .-History:...
the sea flows between the islands in the Western side and, blocked by the beach it fills the lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
between the sandy area and the rocks. The highest peak is the Alto das Cíes (197 m) in Monteagudo.
The islands formed by the end of the Tertiary
Tertiary
The Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...
, when some parts of the coast sank, creating the rías
RIAS
RIAS can stand for one of the following:*Rias, the plural of Ria, a lower river valley submerged by the sea*"Research Institute for Advanced Study", the former research facility created by the Glenn L...
("estuaries"). All three islands are the peaks of the coastal mountains now partially under the sea and are formed mainly of granitic rock.
The land is mountainous with rough, nearly vertical cliffs of more than 100 m (328 ft) on the Western side, and numerous caves (furnas) formed by erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
from the sea and the wind. The Eastern side is less steep, covered by woods
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
and bushes and protected from the Atlantic winds, allowing the formation of beaches and dunes.
Atlantic squalls pass over the islands, unloading as they collide with the coast. Therefore the Cíes receive more or less half of the rain the rest of the Rías Baixas
Rías Baixas
The Rías Baixas are a part of Costa del Marisco facing the Atlantic Ocean in the southern part of the Galicia region of Spain. They consist of the southern part of the Province of Coruña and the entire Province of Pontevedra...
coast receive.
Nature reserve
Due to the high natural value of this area and to the deterioration it was suffering by human activity, it was declared a Nature Reserve in 1980. The level of legal protection varied until November 21, 2000, when the Galician Parliament unanimously agreed to apply for the status of National ParkNational park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
to the central Government. The Spanish Congress of Deputies
Spanish Congress of Deputies
The Spanish Congress of Deputies is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. It has 350 members, elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation in constituencies matching the Spanish provinces using the D'Hondt method. Deputies serve four-year terms...
signed a definite agreement in June 2002, creating the National Land-Marine Park of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia, formed by a number of archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
s, islands and cays, namely the Cíes, Ons
Ons Island
The Ons Island is the main island of a small archipelago in the coast of Pontevedra in Galicia, Spain. Ons belongs administratively to the Galician municipality of Bueu, which has a regular ferry boat connection to the island, as have the mainland towns of Portonovo, Sanxenxo, Marín and...
, Sálvora
Sálvora
Sálvora is a small island located on the Ría de Arousa, coast of Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the municipality of Santa Uxía de Ribeira and is integrated in the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park....
, Noro
Noro
Noro is a town in the Solomon Islands, in the Western Province. It has about 5000 inhabitants. It has a cannery, which was owned by Taiyo Fisheries until 2001 and is now run by the Solomon Islands government....
, Vionta
Vionta
Vionta is a winery in Vilanova de Arousa in the Salnés Valley, the northern-most subzone of the Spanish appelation of Rías Baixas. The winery is one of the largest Albariño vineyards in Spain....
, Cortegada
Cortegada
Cortegada is a municipality in Ourense, Galicia, Spain. It has a population of 1,407 and an area of 27 km²....
and the Malveiras.
The marine part of the Park is measured as a 100-meter-wide strip from the shore in low tide. Since 1992 underwater fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
is forbidden in the islands. National Parks are nature areas nearly untransformed by human activity that, based on their landscape
Landscape
Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...
, geological or ecosystems possess aesthetic, ecologic
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
, educative
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
or scientific values worth of special protection. Therefore, the activities that alter or endanger the stability of the ecosystem are forbidden. Some traditional activities (like traditional fishing) are allowed as long as they are compatible with the environment and the preservation of natural resources.
Since 1988 the Islands have a status of ZEPA (Zona de Especial Protección para las Aves, Spanish for Special Protection Area
Special Protection Area
A Special Protection Area or SPA is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certain particularly threatened birds.Together with Special...
for Birds), and they are included in the Natura 2000
Natura 2000
Natura 2000 is an ecological network of protected areas in the territory of the European Union.-Origins:In May 1992, the governments of the European Communities adopted legislation designed to protect the most seriously threatened habitats and species across Europe. This legislation is called the...
network, which develops European Union Directive
European Union directive
A directive is a legislative act of the European Union, which requires member states to achieve a particular result without dictating the means of achieving that result. It can be distinguished from regulations which are self-executing and do not require any implementing measures. Directives...
s in relation to habitats and bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s.
It contains one of the main colonies of the Yellow-footed Gull
Yellow-footed Gull
The Yellow-footed Gull, Larus livens, is a large gull, closely related to the Western Gull and thought to be a subspecies until the 1960s....
.
The ZEPAs are protected mainly to avoid pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
and general deterioration of the places used by birds permanently or during their migrations.
Tourism
There is another nudist beach.In summer, boats link Monteagudo with the ports of Vigo, Baiona and Cangas.
There is a camping area
Camping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
but permissions have to be reserved at the Vigo port.
A supermarket, a visitor center and a restaurant cater to the visitors.
There are no waste bins in the islands.
Visitors are required to take their litter back to the mainland.
Flora
The scrubland is formed mainly of autochthonousIndigenous (ecology)
In biogeography, a species is defined as native to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention. Every natural organism has its own natural range of distribution in which it is regarded as native...
species, like gorse
Gorse
Gorse, furze, furse or whin is a genus of about 20 plant species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae, native to western Europe and northwest Africa, with the majority of species in Iberia.Gorse is closely related to the brooms, and like them, has green...
, broom
Broom
A broom is a cleaning tool consisting of stiff fibers attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a variety of brush with a long handle. It is commonly used in combination with a dustpan....
, asparagus
Asparagus
Asparagus officinalis is a spring vegetable, a flowering perennialplant species in the genus Asparagus. It was once classified in the lily family, like its Allium cousins, onions and garlic, but the Liliaceae have been split and the onion-like plants are now in the family Amaryllidaceae and...
, spurge flax (Thymelaea
Thymelaea
Thymelaea is a genus of about 30 species of evergreen shrubs and herbs in the flowering plant family Thymelaeaceae, native to the Canary Islands, the Mediterranean region, north to central Europe, and east to central Asia.Species-References:**...
) or rockrose (Cistaceae
Cistaceae
The Cistaceae is a small family of plants known for its beautiful shrubs, which are profusely covered by flowers at the time of blossom...
).
The woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
has suffered bigger alterations, since most autochthonous species like the common fig
Common fig
The Common fig is a deciduous tree growing to heights of up to 6 m in the genus Ficus from the family Moraceae known as Common fig tree. It is a temperate species native to the Middle East.-Description:...
or the pyrenaean oak (Quercus pyrenaica) are now reduced to symbolic representation by the reforestation of nearly one fourth of the surface with pine trees and eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
. On the other hand, the strong winds with a high content in salt act as barrier in the development of the trees.
Some rare and representative coastal species do grow in the dunes, beaches and cliffs under very extreme climatic conditions, as the sea pink (Armeria
Armeria
Armeria is the botanical name for a genus of flowering plants. These plants are sometimes known as "thrift" or as the "sea pinks" as they are often found on coastlines...
pungens, (in galician
Galician language
Galician is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Castilian Spanish, as well as in border zones of the neighbouring territories of Asturias and Castile and León.Modern Galician and...
herba de namorar or "love plant"), locally endangered, and an important number of camariñas (galician common name for Corema album
Ericaceae
The Ericaceae, commonly known as the heath or heather family, is a group of mostly calcifuge flowering plants. The family is large, with roughly 4000 species spread across 126 genera, making it the 14th most speciose family of flowering plants...
), an endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
species from the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
western coast.
Typically marshland flora (like rushes
Juncaceae
Juncaceae, the rush family, are a monocotyledonous family of flowering plants. There are eight genera and about 400 species. Members of the Juncaceae are slow-growing, rhizomatous, herbaceous plants, and they may superficially resemble grasses. They often grow on infertile soils in a wide range...
) grow in the area of the lagoon.