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La Manga (), or La Manga del Mar Menor (meaning "The Sandbar of the Minor Sea") is a seaside spit of 
Historically, it was known by the Romans as ''Palus'' and later by the Moors as ''Al Buhayrat Al Qsarand''. In the 17th century its name changed to ''Mar Chico'', meaning "small sea" and later as El Mar Menor. Originally, it was a bay opening into the Mediterranean; at either end, volcanic reefs gradually held back the sand and sediment that was dragged along by the sea currents to form a sandy column of dunes and rock vegetation and long beaches in contact with two seas. La Manga sandbar is cut off by natural channels that keep the two seas in contact with each other; the so-called ''golas'' allow water from the Mediterranean into the lake. As such, the space was untouched until the 1960s, when La Manga was discovered as a tourist resort and underwent a transformation which included the urbanisation of the area and the construction of tourist infrastructures.
In 1938, during the 
Official Tourism website of Murcia
Unofficial La Manga del Mar Menor Tourism Guide
* ttp://www.yourlamanga.com/la-manga-del-mar-menor-activities-things-to-do/ La Manga Activities
Map
- Link to google maps {{DEFAULTSORT:Manga, La Cartagena, Spain Landforms of the Region of Murcia Landforms of Spain Spits of Europe Mar Menor
La Manga (), or La Manga del Mar Menor (meaning "The Sandbar of the Minor Sea") is a seaside spit of Mar Menor
Mar Menor (, "minor/smaller sea") is a coastal saltwater lagoon in the Iberian Peninsula located south-east of the Autonomous Community of Murcia, Spain, near Cartagena.
Its name is the opposite of the Mediterranean, which is the (greater/lar ...
in the Region of Murcia
The Region of Murcia (, ; ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain located in the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. The region is in area and had a popul ...
, Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
.
The strip is 21 km long and 100 metres wide (average), separating the Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
from the Mar Menor
Mar Menor (, "minor/smaller sea") is a coastal saltwater lagoon in the Iberian Peninsula located south-east of the Autonomous Community of Murcia, Spain, near Cartagena.
Its name is the opposite of the Mediterranean, which is the (greater/lar ...
(Minor Sea) lagoon, from Cabo de Palos to the Punta del Mojón.
Historically, it was known by the Romans as ''Palus'' and later by the Moors as ''Al Buhayrat Al Qsarand''. In the 17th century its name changed to ''Mar Chico'', meaning "small sea" and later as El Mar Menor. Originally, it was a bay opening into the Mediterranean; at either end, volcanic reefs gradually held back the sand and sediment that was dragged along by the sea currents to form a sandy column of dunes and rock vegetation and long beaches in contact with two seas. La Manga sandbar is cut off by natural channels that keep the two seas in contact with each other; the so-called ''golas'' allow water from the Mediterranean into the lake. As such, the space was untouched until the 1960s, when La Manga was discovered as a tourist resort and underwent a transformation which included the urbanisation of the area and the construction of tourist infrastructures.
In 1938, during the Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
, the Battle of Cape Palos took place near the cape.
Its lighthouse began operating on January 31, 1865. The cape is part of a marine reserve, the Reserva Marina de Cabo de Palos e Islas Hormigas.
The nearest airport Región de Murcia International Airport
Región de Murcia International Airport , informally also known as Murcia-Corvera, is an international airport in southeast Spain. It opened in January 2019 and replaced Murcia–San Javier Airport. It is situated between the villages of Corver ...
is located just over 50 kilometres by road.
Sports
The Mar Menor with its 5 islands and having shallow and protected waters, lends itself to being an International waterbased Sports Station. There are sailing and skiing schools that run periodical courses, as well aswindsurfing
Windsurfing is a wind-propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gain ...
and catamarans
A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a watercraft with two parallel hull (watercraft), hulls of equal size. The wide distance between a catamaran's hulls imparts stability through resistance to rolling and overturning; no ballast is requi ...
, and canoeing. In the nearby town of Los Belones
LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to:
Science and technology
* Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation
* Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers
* Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...
is a stadium, La Manga Stadium
La Manga Club Football Stadium is a stadium in La Manga Club, located in southern Spain. It is a resort stadium and is used for friendly matches, as well as a resting and training place for Spain's national football team, FC Cartagena and other t ...
, known for hosting numerous football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
clubs from all over the world during the winter months. La Manga Cup
La Manga Cup is a winter football tournament played in La Manga Club, La Manga del Mar Menor (Murcia, Spain). Usual participants are clubs from countries with a summer football season: Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Russia, Ukraine
Ukr ...
at La Manga Club
La Manga Club is a sports and leisure resort located in the south-eastern region of Spain, Murcia, south of La Manga, and bordered by the Mar Menor and Calblanque Regional Park. The resort complex opened in 1972 and covers an area of 1,400 ...
has been staged every year since 1999. The 2011, 2012, and 2013 Copa del Sol tournaments were also held partly at the stadium, as well as many of the 2000–01 Nordic Football Championship
The 2000–01 Nordic Football Championship was the fourteenth and final Nordic Football Championship staged. Six Nordic countries participated, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The tournament was partially played du ...
matches.
Climate
La Manga has ahot semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...
(Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
: ''BSh'') with mild, moderately dry winters and hot, humid summers, but with very little rainfall. Although there is no long-term climate data, recent data indicate that the region experiences few temperature variations throughout the year due to the strong influence of the Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
and the Mar Menor
Mar Menor (, "minor/smaller sea") is a coastal saltwater lagoon in the Iberian Peninsula located south-east of the Autonomous Community of Murcia, Spain, near Cartagena.
Its name is the opposite of the Mediterranean, which is the (greater/lar ...
, in addition to the high average annual humidity. Winter temperatures are mild, rarely falling below , while summers are muggy, with frequent and very humid tropical night
A tropical night is a term used in many European countries to describe days when the temperature does not fall below during the nighttime. This definition is in use in countries including the Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, G ...
s. The weather station is located about from La Manga.
Panoramic view La Manga del Mar Menor
References
External links
Official Tourism website of Murcia
Unofficial La Manga del Mar Menor Tourism Guide
* ttp://www.yourlamanga.com/la-manga-del-mar-menor-activities-things-to-do/ La Manga Activities
Map
- Link to google maps {{DEFAULTSORT:Manga, La Cartagena, Spain Landforms of the Region of Murcia Landforms of Spain Spits of Europe Mar Menor