Tabernas Desert

About

The Tabernas Desert (Spanish: Desierto de Tabernas) is a desert located within Spain's south-eastern province of Almería. It is in the interior, about 30 kilometers (19 mi) north of the provincial capital Almería, in the Tabernas municipality in Andalusia. Tabernas is the only desert within Europe, since most of its area has a desert climate. Due to its high elevation and mountainous location, it has slightly higher annual precipitation (more than 220 mm (8.7 in) per year) than coastal areas of Almeria. It is a nature reserve (protected area) that spans 280 square kilometers (110 square miles).

The Tabernas Desert is located between the Sierra de los Filabres to the north, the Sierra Alhamilla to the south-southeast and the Sierra Nevada to the west.

The Tabernas Desert is defined mainly by a hot desert climate, a hot semi-desert climate, a cold desert climate, and a cold semi-desert climate. It is isolated from the humid winds of the Mediterranean Sea in an area with little precipitation known as Levante.

In the lowest elevations of the Tabernas basin (about 400 m (1,310 ft) above sea level ), the average annual temperature is close to 18.0 °C (64.4 °F). Due to its relative proximity to the coast and its relatively high altitude, temperatures in winter vary between 0–12 °C (32–54 °F) in the higher altitudes to 6–15 °C (43–59 °F) in the lower altitudes while temperatures in the summer vary from 16–29 °C (61–84 °F) in the higher altitudes to 20–31 °C (68–88 °F) in the lower altitudes. The annual average precipitation is 15–22 cm (5.9–8.7 in) (depending on the zone) with only one-third falling in the hot season (May to October). The average annual sunshine varies from 2800 to 3000 hours.

Thus the climate, from 400–800 meters (1,310–2,620 ft), is an arid and semi-arid type. This characteristic is also aggravated by the foehn effect. [ citation needed ]

Panoramic view of Tabernas Desert from A-92 (GPS 37.016773 -2.446092)

A solar platform (the largest concentrating solar technology research, development and test center in Europe: the solar platform of Almería ) has been installed to conduct experiments on solar thermal energy. High-tech research is carried out in the same place.

Millions of years ago, the corridor between the Sierra Alhamilla and the Sierra de Filabres was covered by the Mediterranean Sea. Over time, the level of the Mediterranean Sea decreased and eventually became a sedimentary basin.

The little rainfall that occurs is usually torrential, so that the ground, consisting of marl and sandstone with little vegetation, is unable to retain moisture. Instead, the rain causes erosion, forming the characteristic landscape of badlands.

The desert is well-endowed with vegetation for a desert. Plants such as the sea lavender ( Limonium insignis ), which are teetering on the verge of extinction, manage to flourish in the arid environment of the desert. In winter, the landscape of the desert turns white when the toadflax linaria ( Nigricans lange ) flowers. There are specimens of yellow scorpions ( Buthus occitanus ), tarantulas ( Lycosa tarentulla ) and black widow spiders ( Latrodectus tredecimguttatus ). Coastal areas have lesser weevers such as Echiichthys vipera and Tachinus dracco, which usually live under the sand.

The reptilian population of the desert includes ladder snakes, spiny-footed lizards and ocellated lizards. Marsh frogs, natterjack toads and terrapins inhabit the moist areas of the desert.

Birds of prey such as the Bonelli's eagles and peregrine falcons roam the desert's skies. Lesser hunters include kestrels and eagle owls. Species such as the blue rock thrush, rock sparrow, rock bunting inhabit the rocky areas of the desert whereas warblers, goldfinches, golden orioles and serins prefer the ramblas near the dry river beds.

The desert contains approximately 20 species of mammals. The Algerian hedgehog is one of the most important mammals inhabiting the area, in addition to rabbit, hare and dormouse species.

The Algerian, or North African, hedgehog ( Atelerix algirus )

The desert is well-endowed with vegetation for a desert. Plants such as the sea lavender ( Limonium insignis ), which are teetering on the verge of extinction, manage to flourish in the arid environment of the desert. In winter, the landscape of the desert turns white when the toadflax linaria ( Nigricans lange ) flowers. There are specimens of yellow scorpions ( Buthus occitanus ), tarantulas ( Lycosa tarentulla ) and black widow spiders ( Latrodectus tredecimguttatus ). Coastal areas have lesser weevers such as Echiichthys vipera and Tachinus dracco, which usually live under the sand.

The reptilian population of the desert includes ladder snakes, spiny-footed lizards and ocellated lizards. Marsh frogs, natterjack toads and terrapins inhabit the moist areas of the desert.

Birds of prey such as the Bonelli's eagles and peregrine falcons roam the desert's skies. Lesser hunters include kestrels and eagle owls. Species such as the blue rock thrush, rock sparrow, rock bunting inhabit the rocky areas of the desert whereas warblers, goldfinches, golden orioles and serins prefer the ramblas near the dry river beds.

The desert contains approximately 20 species of mammals. The Algerian hedgehog is one of the most important mammals inhabiting the area, in addition to rabbit, hare and dormouse species.

The Algerian, or North African, hedgehog ( Atelerix algirus )

The reptilian population of the desert includes ladder snakes, spiny-footed lizards and ocellated lizards. Marsh frogs, natterjack toads and terrapins inhabit the moist areas of the desert.