The Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park ( gl, Parque Nacional das Illas Atlánticas de Galicia, es, Parque Nacional de las Islas Atlánticas de Galicia) is the only

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

located in the

province of Pontevedra Pontevedra is a province of Spain along the country's Atlantic coast in southwestern Europe. The province forms the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of A Coruña, Lugo, and Ourense, ...

, in the

autonomous community eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. It comprises the

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arch ...

s of Cíes, Ons, Sálvora and

Cortegada Cortegada is a municipality in the Ourense, Galicia, Spain. It has a population of 1,407 (2004) and an area of . It contains the abandoned hamlet of A Barca. References Municipalities in the Province of Ourense {{Galicia-geo-s ...

. The park covers a land area of and a sea area of . It is the tenth most visited national park in Spain. It was the thirteenth national park to be established in Spain. Since 2021 it has been designated as a protected

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Geography

The islands of the park are located in the continental platform of the Galician

Rías Baixas The Rías Baixas (Galician language, Galician for "Lower Rias") are a series of four estuarine inlets located on the southwestern coast of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. They are the Ría de Muros e Noia, the Ría de Arousa, the Ria de Ponteved ...

. The archipelagos of Cortegada and Sálvora are located in the inner and outer areas of the

Ría de Arousa The ''Ría de Arousa'' is a ria, a saline estuary, that forms a firth situated on Galicia, Spain. It is one of the five ''Rías Baixas''. The Ría de Arousa estuary is the largest of the estuaries of Galicia. It is part of the Rias Baixas and is ...

, respectively. The Ons archipelago, formed mainly by the Ons and Onza islands, are located at the entrance of the Ría de Pontevedra. Similarly, the

Cíes Islands The Cíes Islands ( gl, Illas Cíes, link=no; es, Islas Cíes, link=no) are an archipelago off the coast of Pontevedra in Galicia, Spain, in the mouth of the Ria de Vigo. They were declared a Nature Reserve in 1980 and are included in the Atla ...

surround the entrance of the

Ría de Vigo A ria (; gl, ría) is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea. Definitions Typically rias have a dendritic, treelike outline although they c ...

and comprise the islands Monteagudo, Montefaro and San Martiño. The 8,480 ha of the national park are distributed as follows:

Geology

The geological history of the islands dates back to the

Palaeozoic era The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three era (geology), geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Ancient Greek, Greek words ' ...

, when the geological materials which currently form the land and marine areas of the park were formed. The geological composition of the Archipelagos of Cíes, Ons and Sálvora is of granitic nature, although in the first two the predominant parent rock is two-mica gneiss-granite, while in Sálvora the predominant material is coarse-grained amphibole-biotite late

granodiorite Granodiorite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, but containing more plagioclase feldspar than orthoclase feldspar. The term banatite is sometimes used informally for various rocks ranging from gr ...

. Cortegada, meanwhile, presents a composition that is predominantly of metamorphic rock

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especiall ...

and

paragneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...

, with migmatic

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

Climate

Although located in a region of

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

, most of the islands of the park present a sub-humid

mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

of Atlantic tendency. Rain is less abundant than in the nearby coast due to the low altitude of the islands, which represents a minimal obstacle for passing clouds. The annual precipitation in Cíes is 1,000 mm/year, while Ons and Sálvora receive 1,500 mm/year. In the summer, precipitation becomes rare. Cortegada, due to its location in the inside of the estuary close to the coast, presents an oceanic climate, with a rainfall of 2000 mm/year. The average annual temperature oscillates in a range of 13-15 ºC with little seasonal variability, with dominant winds from the North in the summer months and from the Southwest in winter.

Flora and fauna

This sea-land ecosystem has a

laurel forest Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and elo ...

and over 200 species of

seaweed Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of '' Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Phaeophyta'' (brown) and '' Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...

. It also stands out for its shellfish, corals and anemones. Among the bird species, those that are particularly significant due to their threat level are the

European Storm Petrel The European storm petrel, British storm petrel, or just storm petrel (''Hydrobates pelagicus'') is a seabird in the northern storm petrel family, Hydrobatidae. The small, square-tailed bird is entirely black except for a broad, white rump and ...

''(Hydrobates pelagicus)'', whose nesting colony could make up 1% of the Spanish Atlantic population, or the overwintering

Balearic Shearwater The Balearic shearwater (''Puffinus mauretanicus'') is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family ''Procellariidae''. ''Puffinus'' is a New Latin loanword based on the English "puffin" and its variants, that referred to the cured carcass of ...

''(Puffinus mauretanicus)'' and the

Eurasian curlew The Eurasian curlew or common curlew (''Numenius arquata'') is a very large wader in the family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia. In Europe, this species is often referred ...

''(Numenius arquata)'' included in the Spanish Catalogue of Endangered Species as Endangered. The presence of the

Yellow-legged Gull The yellow-legged gull (''Larus michahellis'') is a large gull found in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, which has only recently achieved wide recognition as a distinct species. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of either the Cas ...

''(Larus cachinnans michahellis)'' is especially noteworthy; it is a migratory species, whose populational estimates in the Atlantic Islands of Galicia make up 7-15% of the population worldwide, and a third of the Spanish population; or the presence of the

European Shag The European shag or common shag (''Gulosus aristotelis'') is a species of cormorant. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Gulosus''. It breeds around the rocky coasts of western and southern Europe, southwest Asia and north Africa, mai ...

''(Phalacrocorax aristotelis)'', included in the category of Vulnerable in the Spanish Catalogue of Endangered Species and in the Galician Catalogue of Endangered Species, which in this territory has 1-3% of its worldwide population and 78% of its Spanish population. Regarding the mammals that inhabit the marine environments, a noteworthy fact is the presence of up to 27 species of cetaceans and pinnipeds. The most frequent species are the

Common Bottlenose Dolphin The common bottlenose dolphin or Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (''Tursiops truncatus'') is a wide-ranging marine mammal of the family Delphinidae. The common bottlenose dolphin is a very familiar dolphin due to the wide exposure it gets in captiv ...

''(Tursiops truncatus)'', the

Harbour Porpoise The harbour porpoise (''Phocoena phocoena'') is one of eight extant species of porpoise. It is one of the smallest species of cetacean. As its name implies, it stays close to coastal areas or river estuaries, and as such, is the most familiar ...

''(Phocoena phocoena)'', the

Long-finned Pilot Whale The long-finned pilot whale (''Globicephala melas'') is a large species of oceanic dolphin. It shares the genus '' Globicephala'' with the short-finned pilot whale (''Globicephala macrorhynchus''). Long-finned pilot whales are known as such bec ...

''(Globicephala melas)'' and the Short-beaked Common Dolphin ''(Delphinus delphis)''. Additionally, the park sees a regular presence of marine turtles. Among them, the most frequent species is the

Loggerhead Sea Turtle The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around in carapace length when fully ...

''(Caretta caretta)'', along with the

Green Sea Turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...

''(Chelonia mydas)'', Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle ''(Lepidochelys kempii)'', the

Hawksbill Sea Turtle The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution, that is large ...

''(Eretmochelys imbricata)'' or the

Leatherback Sea Turtle The leatherback sea turtle (''Dermochelys coriacea''), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to and weight ...

''(Dermochelys coriacea)''. In the amphibian family, the islands are home to smaller

salamanders Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten ...

than in the nearby continent, with distinct reproduction and diurnal activity as an adaptation to insular conditions. Reptiles include Bedriaga's skinks ''(Chalcides bedriagai)'' and ocellated lizards ''(Timon lepidus)'', and a notable insect is the rare

Spanish festoon ''Zerynthia rumina'', the Spanish festoon, is a butterfly belonging to the family Papilionidae. It is a widespread species in Iberia and frequents most habitats. Distribution North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula and southern France. Descripti ...

butterfly ''(Zerynthia rumina)''. Mammals are scarce, although there are plenty of rabbits which practically have no predators. In recent years,

otters Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes weas ...

have reappeared. File:Alloro Siepe010010001.png, One of Europe's largest

bay laurel ''Laurus nobilis'' is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glabrous (smooth) leaves. It is in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region and is used as bay leaf for seasoning in cookin ...

forests is located in Cortegada Island File:Cormoranes_Moñudos_en_las_Islas_Cíes_2.jpg, The park is home to the largest colony of

European shag The European shag or common shag (''Gulosus aristotelis'') is a species of cormorant. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Gulosus''. It breeds around the rocky coasts of western and southern Europe, southwest Asia and north Africa, mai ...

in Europe File:Larus michahellis.001 - Islas Cies.JPG,

Yellow-legged gull The yellow-legged gull (''Larus michahellis'') is a large gull found in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, which has only recently achieved wide recognition as a distinct species. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of either the Cas ...

''(Larus michaellis''), common in the past along the entire Galician coast File:Corema album berries.jpg, Cíes boasts the largest Galician population of ''

Corema album ''Corema album'', the Portuguese crowberry (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''camarinha''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''camarina''; Galician language, Galician: camariña), is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae endemic to the I ...

'' File:Tursiops truncatus 01.jpg, The

common bottlenose dolphin The common bottlenose dolphin or Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (''Tursiops truncatus'') is a wide-ranging marine mammal of the family Delphinidae. The common bottlenose dolphin is a very familiar dolphin due to the wide exposure it gets in captiv ...

is the most abundant marine mammal in the park

History

There are traces of human occupation in the islands since the Iron Age. Ceramics have also been found since Roman times. The islands were occupied by various monastic orders during the Middle Ages, were owned by the Church, gauged by nobles of the time and attacked by invaders who used them as a base for raids on the coast. More recently, the

were inhabited until the eighteenth century, but by pirates' action, people had to abandon the islands.

Ons Island The Ons Island ( gl, Illa de Ons; es, Isla de Ons) is the main island of a small archipelago in the Ria de Pontevedra in Galicia, Spain. Ons belongs administratively to the municipality of Bueu, which has a regular ferry boat connection to th ...

is still home to a small permanent population of 63 people. In 1980 the

were declared a natural park. They are also a ''Special Protection Area'' for birds. On June 13, 2002 was declared a national park. However, 6 months later, the

oil spill An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into t ...

caused by the Prestige oil tanker came on its shores, except on the island of Cortegada. The islands of Lobeiras and Sisargas were initially discussed to be part of the national park and could be added to the park in the future.

Tourism

Centro de Visitantes Cambón, teletransportadores

During the summer, daily boats link Cíes with the ports of

Vigo Vigo ( , , , ) is a city and municipality in the province of Pontevedra, within the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits on the southern shore of an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, the ...

, Baiona and Cangas, and Ons with

Portonovo Portonovo is a fishing village and tourist center within the municipality of Sanxenxo. It belongs to the parish of Adina. Situated in the Ria de Pontevedra, its climate is cold and rainy in winter and warm and sunny in summer. Tourism is the ...

Sanxenxo Sanxenxo (; in Spanish ''Sangenjo'') is a municipality in Galicia, Spain in the province of Pontevedra. It is situated in the southern part of the O Salnés region 15 kilometres west of the city of Pontevedra and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean ...

Bueu Bueu is a municipality in Galicia, Spain, in the province of Pontevedra. Bueu belongs to the Comarca of O Morrazo together with Cangas do Morrazo, Moaña and Marín. It is located on the northern edge of the Morrazo peninsula. Isla de Ons an ...

, Marín and

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the '' Comarca'' (County) and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rías Baixas in Galicia. It is also the capital of its own municipality wh ...

. Daily affluence is limited and all visitors are required to previously book an authorization request from the Galician Government. In Cíes there is a camping area but permissions have to be reserved at the Vigo port. Access to Salvora and Cortegada is more restricted, requiring organized visits. There are no waste bins on the islands. Visitors are required to take their litter back to the mainland. In 2017, the number of visitors to the park totaled 327,149. The Cíes archipelago received by far the most tourists (216,975), followed by Ons (88,306), Sálvora (7,261) and Cortegada (6,500). The park has two visitor centers, one in Vigo and one in Ons. Additionally, Cíes is equipped with an information center, and there are information points in Cíes, Ons and Cortegada.

Environmental issues

Due to successive fires and agricultural practice, the original forests of the islands eventually declined and reforestation attempts in the 70s and 80s of the 20th century were performed with foreign species, particularly

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as ...

and Acacias. While successful at creating new forests, this resulted in a diminishing quality of the soil and an increased risk of fire. The park is gradually replacing these species with

arbutus ''Arbutus'' is a genus of 12 accepted speciesAct. Bot. Mex no.99 Pátzcuaro abr. 2012.''Arbutus bicolor''/ref> of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to warm temperate regions of the Mediterranean, western Europe, the Canary Islan ...

, pine trees and birches, a process expected to take 20 years to completion. The

Prestige oil spill The ''Prestige'' oil spill occurred off the coast of Galicia, Spain in November 2002, caused by the sinking of the 26-year-old, structurally deficient oil tanker , carrying 77,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil. During a storm, it burst a tank on ...

in 2002 and the subsequent cleanup caused major environmental damage in the park. Although almost all traces of fuel have disappeared, two decades later the park's biodiversity has not yet recovered pre-spill levels. The population of lichens was completely wiped out in several locations and has repopulated only partially, while the annual reproductive success of the European shag was reduced by more than half.

Gallery

Cabo_Silleiro._Galiza_S1.jpg, Cíes Islands from Cabo Silleiro Solpor_dende_a_montaña_norte_das_Illas_Cíes,_Vigo,_Galiza.jpg, Cliffs on the Atlantic side of Cíes Vistas_de_la_isla_Sur_de_las_islas_Cíes.jpg, San Martiño Island in Cíes Cíes_en_febreiro.jpg, Porta lighthouse in Faro Island, Cíes Illa_de_Ons_Curro_3.jpg, Dorna beach and port, Ons Illa_de_Ons_Buraco_do_Inferno_10.jpg, Cruceiro near Buraco do Inferno, Ons Illa_de_Ons_Espaduada_e_Illa_de_Onza_11.jpg, Onza Island Cortegada_e_Bamio_dende_O_Carril-24.jpg, Cortegada Island from

Vilagarcía de Arousa Vilagarcía de Arousa is a Spanish municipality in the Province of Pontevedra, Galicia. As of 2014 it has a population of 37,712, being ninth largest town in Galicia. History The present site of Vilagarcía has been occupied since prehistori ...

Aldea_de_Sálvora,_Aguiño,_Ribeira.jpg, Ancient village in Sálvora

References

External links

National park home page

Tourism information of the Galician Government

Official park brochure
{{Authority control National parks of Spain Protected areas established in 2002 Protected areas of Galicia (Spain) 2002 establishments in Spain Ramsar sites in Spain