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Cabo de Palos and the Islas Hormigas Marine Reserve

Cartagena, Campo de Cartagena, Murcia

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Cabo de Palos and the Islas Hormigas Marine Reserve

Nature · Cartagena, Campo de Cartagena, Murcia

The Cabo de Palos and Islas Hormigas marine reserve is a protected underwater natural area of about 19 km² between the lighthouse of Cabo de Palos and the Hormigas islands, in Cartagena. It stands out for its great biological diversity and the good state of conservation of its seabed, with extensive Posidonia meadows and coral colonies. Protected since 1995 to preserve its flora and fauna and to serve as a reserve for commercial species, it combines zones of full protection with others of restricted use and is included in the Natura 2000 Network. The shoals of the Hormigas islands, whose name comes from the grasshoppers that once colonised their slopes, have historically been a hazard to navigation: the ocean liner Sirio sank there in 1906, with numerous victims.

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