Guardamar del Segura (Valencian pronunciation: [ˌɡwaɾðaˈmaɾ ðel seˈɣuɾa]) or briefly Guardamar is a municipality of the province of Alicante located at the mouth of the river Segura in southern Valencia (autonomous community), Spain. It is a Mediterranean resort, with a large pine forest abutting an 11-km-long white sand beach.

Guardamar del Segura
Flag of Guardamar del Segura
Coat of arms of Guardamar del Segura
Guardamar del Segura is located in Province of Alicante
Guardamar del Segura
Guardamar del Segura
Location in Spain
Guardamar del Segura is located in Valencian Community
Guardamar del Segura
Guardamar del Segura
Guardamar del Segura (Valencian Community)
Guardamar del Segura is located in Spain
Guardamar del Segura
Guardamar del Segura
Guardamar del Segura (Spain)
Coordinates: 38°5′23″N 0°39′18″W / 38.08972°N 0.65500°W / 38.08972; -0.65500
Country Spain
Autonomous community Valencian Community
ProvinceAlicante
ComarcaEl Baix Segura / La Vega Baja
Judicial districtTorrevieja
Founded10th century
Government
 • MayorCarmen Verdú (2011) (PP)
Area
 • Total35.58 km2 (13.74 sq mi)
Elevation
25 m (82 ft)
Population
 (2018)[1]
 • Total15,058
 • Density420/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
DemonymGuardamarenco (m) guardamarenca (f)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
03140 and 03149
Dialing code965 and 966
Official language(s)Spanish and Valencian

Historically an area of fishermen and farmers, Guardamar del Segura is the southernmost point where Valencian is spoken. A Phoenician colony, called Herna by Roman geographer Avienius in his book Ora Maritima was the first settlement near the mouth of Segura river,[2] In Spanish, "guardar" means "safekeeping" and "mar" means "sea", and this is another possible basis for its current name.

Guardamar is the southernmost Catalan-speaking town and in 1991 41.8% of the town's residents could speak it.[3] Guardamar hosts local festivals like Moros i Cristians, L'Encantà, and Fogueres de Sant Joan, which commemorate its history.

Population edit

The INE (Spanish Census) of 2006 showed that the city had 14,261 residents. By January 2011 this figure had reached 16,863 of which 10,051 were Spanish. The total dropped by 2015 to 15,589. The most prominent nationalities in 2015 were:

Historical population
(1857-2015)[4]
Year Population Year Population
1857 2,696 1960 4,586
1887 2,549 1970 4,715
1900 2,862 1981 5,708
1910 2,898 1991 7,513
1920 3,067 2001 9,944
1930 4,016 2004 12,215
1940 4,703 2007 15,132
1950 4,704 2011 16,683
2015 15,589
Foreign population
(official data, 2015)
Nationality Percentage
  United Kingdom 8,93
  Russia 3,49
  Bulgaria 2,24
  Germany 2,02
  Ukraine 1,92
  Morocco 1,71
  Romania 1,37
  China 0,84
  Italy 0,76

Government edit

 
Guardamar City Hall

Carmen Verdú is the mayor of the city. In the latest municipal elections of May 2011, Carmen Verdú of the People's Party (Partido Popular) won the elections with an absolute majority, larger than the one the former major (María Elena Albentosa) had, while the opposition (Socialist Party) lost some of their popular support. She is the second woman ever to occupy this position.

At the 2015 local elections, the political composition on the local council was:

Party[5] Seats
PP 8
PSOE 7
IU-Acord Ciutadà 1
We Want Guardamar del Segura 1

Geography edit

Climate edit

Climate data for Guardamar del Segura
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 16
(61)
17
(63)
19
(66)
20
(68)
23
(73)
27
(81)
30
(86)
31
(88)
28
(82)
24
(75)
20
(68)
17
(63)
23
(73)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 6
(43)
7
(45)
8
(46)
10
(50)
13
(55)
16
(61)
19
(66)
20
(68)
18
(64)
14
(57)
10
(50)
7
(45)
12
(54)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 25
(1.0)
29
(1.1)
28
(1.1)
34
(1.3)
29
(1.1)
20
(0.8)
7
(0.3)
13
(0.5)
37
(1.5)
67
(2.6)
46
(1.8)
36
(1.4)
371
(14.5)
Source: holiday-weather.com

Points of interests edit

References edit

  1. ^ Municipal Register of Spain 2018. National Statistics Institute.
  2. ^ Bierling, Marilyn R. and Gitin, Seymour (2002). The Phoenicians in Spain: an archaeological review of the eighth-sixth centuries B.C.E.: a collection of articles translated from Spanish. Eisenbrauns, p. 124. ISBN 1-57506-056-6
  3. ^ "Fons estadístic documental - Generalitat Valenciana". www.edu.gva.es. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  4. ^ from 1857: national census.
  5. ^ MIR - Guardamar de Segura.

External links edit