Penyal d'Ifac Natural Park ( ca-valencia, Parc Natural del Penyal d'Ifac, es, Parque Natural del Peñón de Ifach) is a natural park situated in

Calpe Calpe () or Calp () is a coastal municipality located in the ''comarca'' of Marina Alta, in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of and a population density of . The city lies at the foot ...

, in the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wi ...

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") , ...

. The Penyal d'Ifac is a massive limestone outcrop emerging from the sea and linked to the shore by rock

debris Debris (, ) is rubble, wreckage, ruins, litter and discarded garbage/refuse/trash, scattered remains of something destroyed, or, as in geology, large rock fragments left by a melting glacier, etc. Depending on context, ''debris'' can refer to ...

. It is home to numerous rare plants, including a number of endemic species, and over 300 species of animals, and a nesting site for colonies of sea birds and other birds. Rising to 332 metres high, the rock is a striking visual feature of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

coastline. Historically it was known to the

Phoenicians Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...

as the Northern Rock, to distinguish it from its southern counterpart, the

Rock of Gibraltar The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabel-al-Tariq) is a monolithic limestone promontory located in the British territory of Gibraltar, near the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, and near the entrance to the Medite ...

.Fincal La Hometa website
, accessed 20 March 2011 Behind Penyal d'Ifac is a large lagoon cut off from the sea by strips of sandy beach and extending inland to the coastal mountains. The wetland area around the lagoon is all that remains of the formerly much more extensive wetlands of the Marina Alta. A protracted campaign to protect the site's unique natural diversity led to the area being granted natural park status in January 1987. With an area of 45 hectares, it is the smallest natural park in Spain, possibly in Europe. The park ranges from sea level to an altitude of 332 metres at the summit of the rock (''penyal'' in Valencian, ''peñón'' in Spanish). From the top of the rock there are views over the surrounding villages and countryside and on a clear day as far across the sea as

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its la ...

in the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

Plant ecology

The rock's sheer cliffs and rocky escarpments, exposed to the sea winds on three sides, have created a variety of microhabitats that have fostered a diversity of specialised plant species. At the lowest levels, relatively deep soils with higher moisture content in areas protected from the sea have allowed the development of a typical Mediterranean scrub vegetation community including dwarf palms, juniper, lavender and white pine. Higher up as soils become thinner and more exposed to the sun and wind alpine plant species have colonised cracks and gullies in the rock. The

Ifac silene IFAC may refer to: * International Fine Arts College, now renamed to the Miami International University of Art & Design. * International Fine Arts Consortium, the independent curatorial platform in New York. * International Federation of Accountant ...

, ', a highly endangered species first discovered on the rock, has now disappeared from the locality; no more than 20 adult plants are thought to be left in the wild.

Phoenix dactylifera ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as date or date palm, is a flowering plant species in the palm family, Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across northern Africa, the Middle Ea ...

palm species are naturalised in the area due for the massive public and private plantations from nearby.

Animal life

The rock face provides nesting sites for birds of prey including peregrine falcons and Eleonor's falcon, seabirds including gulls and cormorants, and other birds typical of rocky habitats. There are also semi-domesticated cats that live near the peak.

Marine life

The seabed around Penyal d'Ifac is varied, with rocky, stony and sandy areas sheltering a very diverse marine community.

References

External links

Natural Park of Penyal d'IfacPenon de Ifach
at Beautiful World
Ifac silene photograph
{{DEFAULTSORT:Penyal d'Ifac Natural Park Geography of the Province of Alicante Natural parks of Spain Natural parks of the Valencian Community Protected areas established in 1987 Protected areas of the Valencian Community Geology of Spain