Illes Medes

The Illes Medes (in Catalan) or Islas Medas (in Spanish) is a small and craggy group of islets in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. They are located close to the shore, east of the coastal town of L'Estartit.

Meda Gran, the largest one, has an area of 1.8 km² and is the only island of a considerable size. It has some mediterranean vegetation and a nineteen-century lighthouse on it. The second largest island, Meda Xica is only 0.24 km².

Carall (or Cavall) Bernat, Tascons Grossos, Medellot, Tascons Petits and Ferrenelles are mere steep rocky outcrops jutting out from the sea.

Ecology

These islands were declared a protected area by the Catalan Autonomous Government in 1983, becoming an important marine reserve in the Western Mediterranean.

Despite the ravages caused by industrial pollution and mass-tourism in the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula, there is still a significant amount of marine biodiversty in the waters off the islands, like large submarine meadows of Posidonia oceanica and underwater caves where groupers breed.

Administration

Administratively the Medes Archipelago belongs to the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia.

References

* [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Eles_Medas French Wikipedia]
* [http://www.pyreneestourism.org/medes-islands/ Tourism]