Mar Menor

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Satellite view of the Mar Menor, Cartagena, and Cape Palos.

Mar Menor (little sea or small sea) is a salty lagoon, in the south-east of the autonomous Community of Murcia, in Spain, separated from the Mediterranean sea by a sandbar 22km in length and with a variable width from 100 to 1200m.

It belongs to four municipalities: Cartagena, Los Alcazares, San Javier and San Pedro del Pinatar. With a surface area of nearly 170km², a coastal length of 70km, and warm and clear water which does not exceed 7m in depth, it is "the largest swimming pool in the world" according to the opinions of the famous swimmer and Hollywood actress Esther Williams.

Its relatively high salinity, which aids floatation, and remarkable sporting infrastructures make this one of the most popular places in Europe for the practice and training of all kinds of water sports.

Phoenicians initially, then the Moorish Kings, chose this "small sea" to install their summer residences here. Today, this place attracts all those who seek a quiet place to rest and relax, with ideal climatic conditions all year round.

[edit] Ecological importance of the Mar Menor

At the northern end there is a wetland of international importance. In 1994 it was included on the list of the Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands. The site has also had the status of a Regional Park since 1992 "Salinas y Arenales de San Pedro del Pinatar".

The Mar Menor is also part of a Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Importance and is a Special Protection Area (ZEPA in Spanish) for bird-life. [1]