National Park of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia

The Islas Atlánticas de Galicia National Park is a Spanish protected natural area that includes the islands of Ons, Cíes, Sálvora and Cortegada, in the provinces of La Coruña and Pontevedra, autonomous community of Galicia. It has an area of 1,194.8 ha on land and 7,285.2 ha of sea surface. It is the only national park in Galicia and the thirteenth in Spain in chronological order.

Currently it is necessary to request an authorization from the Junta de Galicia to be able to visit both the Cíes Islands and the Ons Island.

Flora and fauna

This maritime-terrestrial ecosystem is home to a large laurel forest, and more than 200 species of marine algae. It also stands out for having mollusks, corals, and anemones. As for the terrestrial, you can see yellow-legged gulls, shags, razorbills and guillemots.

History

There are traces of human occupation on the islands from the Iron Age. Ceramics from the time of the Roman Empire have also been found. They were occupied by different monastic orders during the Middle Ages, they were owned by the Church, allocated to nobles of the time, attacked by invaders who used them as a base for their incursions to the coast. More recently, the islands were inhabited until the 18th century, but due to the action of pirates, the population left the islands. ^{[citation required]} In 1980 the Cíes islands were declared a natural park. They are also Special Protection Area for birds. On June 1, 2002, it was declared a national park. However, 6 months later, the oil slick caused by the sinking of the Prestige oil tanker reached its shores, except for those of the island of Cortegada. The Sisargas and Lobeiras islands could be included in the park in the future.

The island of Sálvora is located at the entrance of the Ría de Arosa, separated from firm land for a distance of about 3 km to the north. It occupies an area of about 190 ha and has a maximum altitude of 71 meters.

Member archipelagos and islands

• Cí Archipelago: The Cí Islands form an archipelago located in the mouth of the Vigo River. They belong to the municipality of Vigo (parroquia de San Francisco de Afora), and are located in the 42o 15' north latitude, and the 8o 54' west longitude. In February 2007, the British newspaper The Guardian He chose the beach of Rhodes, on the island of Monteagudo, as the best beach in the world. In November 2013 the City Council of Vigo initiated the procedures for the Islands to be declared a World Heritage Site, later in May 2017 the Board of Galicia sent its request to the Ministry of Culture requesting that the entire park of the Atlantic Islands be recognized by the Unesco.

• Ons Archipelago: The Ons Islands form an archipelago located in the mouth of the Pontevedra River at the coordinates: 42°22′50′N, 8°56′00′′O. It consists of the island of Ons, the island of Onza or Onzeta, and other small rocks among which stand out El Corveiro. In the summer season, sea trips are made daily from the ports of Marin, Cangas, Bueu, Sangenjo and Portonovo.

• Isle of Cortegada: The Isle of Cortegada is an island located in the province of Pontevedra, inside the Ría de Arosa. It is the largest of an archipelago that besides Cortegada has other groups of islands, such as the Malveiras Islands or the Briñas Islands.

• Sálvora Island: The island of Sálvora is an island of the Atlantic Ocean, which is located in the mouth of the ria of Arosa, Galicia, Spain.

Aspiring Archipelagos and Islands

Ons Island.

Apart from the islands that belong to the national park as a whole, there are other islands that aspire to integrate it or are in the process of doing so:

• Tambo Island: Located in the middle of the Pontevedra River, already in its final part, in front of the village of Marin although it belongs to the town of Poyo. It has an area of 28 hectares and reaches 80 meters of altitude. It is oval and has a typical pyramidal shape completely covered with trees, especially eucalyptus. The south has a small peninsula that looks almost like an island seen from land and has an old lighthouse. Tambo has two beaches united in the northern part of the island and with three small boats. The main problem for the inclusion of the island in the national park is the relative dirt of the waters in the interior of the river produced mainly due to the lack of debugger in the city of Pontevedra. To this we must add the military occupation that the island has had for decades until its recent unemployment.

• Sisargas Islands: These islands belong to the town hall of Malpica de Bergantiños and as Tambo his accession to the national park depends mainly on the purchase by the Government or the Board of Galicia to its owners and make it, thus, public. Unlike all other islands, these are located outside the Bajas, in the Costa de la Muerte area. The archipelago consists of three islands, called Sisarga Grande, Malante and Sisarga Chica, and a series of surrounding islets. The islands are mostly steep in nature, which is conducive to many cliffs in the Great Sisarga. However, on this same island we can find a boat and a small beach in the south. The first lighthouse of the archipelago was built in 1853 and in the antigūedad it is said that there was some kind of religious fortification ruined by time and by the Norman attacks on the island. The ornithological wealth of the islands is evident in the numerous endemic bird colonies of these places or which are in danger of extinction such as the gloomy seagull or the tridactila seagull.

Interpretation Center

The Cambón Visitor Center is located in the city of Vigo, which is a didactic interpretation center of the National Park of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia. Its facilities have 1,500 m² for exhibition areas, an auditorium, classrooms and office area; In these dependencies, visitors will be able to learn in detail about the flora, fauna and heritage of the park, also highlighting the teleportation booths with visual effects and various interactive content.