Cartaya

Cartaya is a Spanish locality and municipality in the Province of Huelva, (autonomous community of Andalusia). In 2010 it had 18,415 inhabitants. Its surface area is 226.4 km² and has a density of 81.34 people per km².

The present town of Cartaya was founded in the 15th century by the Marquis of Gibraleón, Don Pedro de Zúñiga. Its name comes from the Phoenician word "Carteia", meaning city, which implies that the site had been settled much earlier. Traces have been found dating from the late Roman Empire and there is evidence of farmsteads from the early medieval period.

The municipality's economy is mainly based on the primary sector. However, more recent development has been encouraged in the service sector focused on leisure and tourism. The per capita income is high in comparison to neighboring municipalities. The newer settlements of El Rompido and Nuevo Portil, along with other developments, have contributed to significant population growth over recent decades.

Among the area's noteworthy attractions are: the former Convent of the Blessed Trinity; the Parish Church; the Hermitage of Santa María de Consolación; the Castle of the Zuñiga; and 4 kilometers of beaches (El Rompido, San Miguel Beach, Nuevo Portil beach and the westernmost part of El Portil).

Toponym

The toponym ''Cartaya'' seems to be of Phoenician origin: ''Qart'' or ''Carteia'', meaning ''The City''. In the Andalusian period, it was referred to by the name ''qarqaya'', phonetically very similar to the present. Cartaya should not be confused with Libertinorum Carteia in San Roque.

Symbols

;Shield

The municipal blazon is:

It was approved by decree of 21 July 1972 and published in the BOE on 24 August that year.Huelva County Council. Municipal Heraldry of Cartaya.

;Flag

The municipal flag was adopted at the plenary municipal meeting of 10 August 1998 and it has the following description:

Physical geography

Situation

Cartaya is located 26 km west of Huelva and 112 km from Seville.

;Location

The municipality of Cartaya is located in the southwest of the province of Huelva. It lies on the estuary of the Piedra river, which forms the southern and eastern edge of the territory. The main settlement of Cartaya is situated upstream on the east bank of the Piedra. The smaller settlement of El Rompido is further upstream, on the estuary itself, while El Portil – which falls partly within Punta Umbría – is right at the river-mouth, on the Atlantic coast.

The municipality covers an area of 226.4 km² with an average altitude of 26 masl.

;Bordering populations

The nearest town is Lepe: five miles to the west, on the other side of the river Piedra. To the northeast is Gibraleón and to the south-east is Punta Umbría, which separated from the municipality of Cartaya in 1963.

Orography

The relief of the region can be categorized into three main types. The fluvial-coastal zone includes the floodplain of the river down to and including the Atlantic coastline and San Miguel Beach. The wooded zone is made up of pine groves and low hills. The remaining part of the region is made up of fields.

The soil is composed of gravel and conglomerates of detritic coverages, glacis and eroded hillsides. Most of the orography was formed in the Quaternary Period, although the higher ground shows outcrops of Paleozoic shale.

One of the most distinctive features of the landscape is the long peninsula known as the "Arrow of Nueva Umbría" or "Arrow of El Rompido". Possession of this narrow strip of land is a source of dispute between the municipalities of Lepe and Cartaya. Another local landmark is the Lagoon of El Portil.

;Geodesic data

Climatology

The region has a Mediterranean climate. The winters are very mild, with temperatures rarely dropping below 10 °C; the summers are warm, generally reaching highs of over 30 °C in July and August. Precipitation is not very abundant.

The table below shows the average temperature and rainfall by month for the year 2007:

Hydrology

The principal river is the Piedra, which forms the boundary between the municipalities of Cartaya and Lepe. The river's source is in the municipality of El Almendro, although many tributary streams rise in the municipality of Villanueva de los Castillejos. At one time, the river mouth was by the village of El Rompido, whose name derives from the ocean waves breaking against the river sediment. However, the sediments deposited by the river have built up over time in an easterly direction, giving rise to features such as the "Arrow of Nueva Umbria" and the Lagoon of El Portil.

The water supply of Cartaya municipality comes from the Chanza Reservoir, situated in another municipality.

Ecology

;Flora
There are 12,000 hectares of forest in the area; mostly pine, juniper, new plantations of eucalyptus trees and some smaller areas of evergreen oaks and cork oaks. Along with the marshland areas of the "Marshes of the River Piedra" and the "Arrow of Nueva Umbria",

these make up the most significant area of semi-virgin land on the Andalusian coast.

The "Arrow of Nueva Umbria" is an unusual habitat, formed by the effects of winds and tides on the river sediments. It contains three main ecosystems: dune, retama, and marsh. Due to the conditions, very few plants can thrive there. Typical flora includes sea holly