Location of Alicante province in Spain, in a deeper red shade within the Valencian Community.

Alicante in Spanish or Alacant (in Valencian) is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the Valencian Community. It is bordered by the provinces of Murcia on the southwest, Albacete on the west, Valencia on the north, and the Mediterranean Sea on the east. The province takes its name after the name of its capital, the city of Alicante. Download high resolution version (1705x1185, 81 KB)Made by Waninoco. ... Download high resolution version (1705x1185, 81 KB)Made by Waninoco. ... Alicante Denominación de Origen (DO) is located in the province of Alicante (Valencia region, Spain). ... This page deals with language. ... In addition to its seventeen autonomous communities, Spain is divided into fifty provinces. ... Capital Valencia Official language(s) Valencian and Castilian Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 8th  23,255 km²  4. ... Capital Murcia Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 9th  11 313 km²  2,2% Population  â€“ Total (2003)  â€“ % of Spain  â€“ Density Ranked 10th  1 226 993  2,9%  108,46/km² Demonym  â€“ English  â€“ Spanish  Murcian  murciano/a Statute of Autonomy June 9, 1982 ISO 3166-2 MU Parliamentary representation  â€“ Congress seats  â€“ Senate... Albacete province Albacete is a province of central Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha. ... Valencia province Valencia (Castilian Spanish: Valencia /balenθja/; Valencian Catalan: València /vałεnsia/) is a province of Spain, in the central part of the Valencian Country. ... Composite satellite image of the Mediterranean Sea. ... Location of Alicante in Spain Alicante (Castillian Spanish) or Alacant (Valencian) is the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of the Alacantí, in the southern part of the Valencian community, Spain, a historic Mediterranean port. ...

Territory and resources

Main towns in Alicante province

According to the 2005 census, Alicante ranks as the 5th most populous province in Spain, with 1,732,389 inhabitants, from which at least 350,000 are foreign,.^[1] one of the highest ratio in Spain. Cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants in the province are Alicante (319,380 inhab.), Elche (215,137 inhab.), Torrevieja (84,348 inhab.), Orihuela (75,009 inhab.), Benidorm (67,492 inhab.), Alcoy (60,931 inhab.), and Elda (55,571 inhab.). Image File history File links Size of this preview: 727 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1171 × 966 pixel, file size: 192 KB, MIME type: image/png) Map of the province of Alicante (southeastern Spain). ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 727 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1171 × 966 pixel, file size: 192 KB, MIME type: image/png) Map of the province of Alicante (southeastern Spain). ... Location of Alicante in Spain Alicante (Castillian Spanish) or Alacant (Valencian) is the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of the Alacantí, in the southern part of the Valencian community, Spain, a historic Mediterranean port. ... View of Elche Elche (in Spanish) or Elx (in Catalan) is a city in the Alicante province in Valencia, Spain, near the city of Alicante. ... Torrevieja is a seaside city and municipality located on the Costa Blanca in the province of Alicante, in south-eastern Spain. ... Orihuela is a city and municipality located in the province of Alicante, Spain. ... Location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Benidorm (Valencian) Spanish name Benidorm Founded 1325 Postal code 0350X Area code 34 (Spain) + 96 (Alicante/Alacant) Website http://www. ... Panoramic photograph of Alcoy taken in 1925. ... ELDA, more correctly ELDA+, is also the acronym for the European Lighting Designers Association. ...

From the 50 provinces of Spain, Alicante is the only one with three metropolitan areas (Alicante-Elche, Elda-Petrer, Benidorm area) even though only one of these (Alicante-Elche) is ranked within the Spanish top ten metropolitan areas.^[2] It has an area of 5.863 km², and so it has a population density of 295.5 hab/km². This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Geography and Climate

Physical map of Alicante province

The province is mountainous, specially to the north and west, whereas it is mostly flat to the south, in the Vega Baja del Segura area; the most elevated points in the province are Aitana (1,558 m), Puig Campana (1,410 m), Moncabrer (1,389 m), Carrascal de Alcoy (1,354 m), Maigmó (1,296 m), Sierra de Crevillente (835 m) and El Montgó (753 m). All of these peaks are a part of the Subbaetic Range. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Province Alicante Capital Orihuela Largest city Torrevieja Demonym   Population 325,276 (2001) Area 3820 km2 Population density 85. ... The Baetic Cordillera is a mountain system in southern Spain. ...

The coast extends from Cabo de la Nao (Nao Cape) in the north to almost reaching the Mar Menor (Minor Sea) in the south. With regard to water sources, due to the dry rain regime there are no major rivers, but mostly ramblas (dry rivers which fill in with water when torrential rains occur). Cabo de la Nao, Cap de la Nau in Catalan, literally Cape of the Ship, is a headland located in the Mediterranean province of Alicante, Spain, being the most eastern point of the autonomous community of Valencia. ... Mar Menor is a salty lagoon, in the south-east of the autonomous Community of Murcia, in Spain, separated from Mediterranean sea by a sand band 22 km length and from a variable width from 100 to 1200 meters. ...

The only remarkable streams are the Vinalopó, Serpis and, specially, the river Segura. Other minor seasonal creeks (some completely dried out in summer) are Girona, Algar, Amadorio or Ebo. The Vinalopó is a small river flowing through the Alicante province, in Spain. ... Segura River. ...

There are remarkable saline wetlands and marshlands along the coast such El Fondó and the former wetlands and now salt evaporation ponds in Santa Pola and Torrevieja. All of them are key RAMSAR sites which make the Alicante province of high relevance for both migratory and resident seabirds and waterbirds. San Francisco Bay salt ponds Salt evaporation pond in Ile de Ré, France. ... Ramsar (in Persian: رامسر) is a town in Mazandaran province of Iran, at the Caspian Sea. ...

Important coastal dunes are present in the Guardamar area which were planted with thousands of pine trees during the 19th century in order to protect the ville from the dunes advancing, which has created now an area of remarkable ecologic value. This article is about the sand formations, for other meanings see Dune (disambiguation) Mesquite Flat Dunes in Death Valley National Park In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by eolian (wind-related) processes. ... Guardamar del Segura is a municipality of the province of Alicante located at the mouth of the river Segura in southern Valencia (autonomous community) (Spain). ...

The climate is strikingly diverse for such a reduced area. Three major areas can be cited

• Most of the province belongs to a Semiarid climate. It roughly goes along the coastal plain from Vila Joiosa through the southernmost border (cities included here are, amongst others, Alicante, Elx, Orihuela and Torrevieja). Summers are very long, hot to very hot and very dry, winters are cool to mild and its most prominent feature is very scarce precipitation, typically below 300mm. per year and most likely to happen during spring and autumn. The reasons for this lack of precipitation is mostly the marked Rain shadow effect caused by hills to the west of the Alicante province (and, to a lesser degree, those in the northern part of the province which, in turn, enhance the inverse Orographic lift effect around Cabo de la Nao). Most of its few rainy days happen during Autumn and Spring.

The predominant vegetation in this part of the province is Matorral Scrublands including thyme, esparto, juniper and the like. Semi-arid generally describes regions that receive low annual rainfall (250 to 500 mm or 10 to 20 in) and generally have scrub or grass vegetation. ... For the television series see Rain Shadow. ... Matorral is a Spanish word for shrubland. ... Scrubland is plant community characterized by scrub vegetation. ... Species About 350 species, including: Thymus adamovicii Thymus altaicus Thymus amurensis Thymus bracteosus Thymus broussonetii Thymus caespititius Thymus camphoratus Thymus capitatus Thymus capitellatus Thymus camphoratus Thymus carnosus Thymus cephalotus Thymus cherlerioides Thymus ciliatus Thymus cilicicus Thymus cimicinus Thymus comosus Thymus comptus Thymus curtus Thymus disjunctus Thymus doerfleri Thymus glabrescens Thymus... Binomial name Stipa tenacissima L. - Esparto grass Esparto, or esparto grass, also known as halfah grass or needle grass, Stipa tenacissima, is a perennial grass grown in northwest Africa and southern Spain for fiber production for paper making. ... Species Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. ...

• Proper Mediterranean climate is present in the northeastern areas around Cabo de la Nao, mostly to its North but also to its South, in diminishing grades until disappearing slightly north of Benidorm. It roughly goes along the coastal plain from the northern border of the province through the Benidorm area. The north slopes of the mountains in the Marina Alta have a remarkably wetter micro climate which allows to accumulate an average of up to 900mm. due to the Orographic lift phenomenon with most of the precipitation occurring in Autumn and Spring. The precipitation in this area is an average four times the one of the semiarid South, with this big precipitation gap occurring in a matter of just 100 kms.

The vegetation of this part is an enriched version of the Matorral shrubland and also mediterranean pine woods. A Mediterranean climate is a climate that resembles the climate of the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea. ... Cabo de la Nao, Cap de la Nau in Catalan, literally Cape of the Ship, is a headland located in the Mediterranean province of Alicante, Spain, being the most eastern point of the autonomous community of Valencia. ... Province Alicante Capital Dénia Largest city Dénia Demonym   Population 175,310 (2001) Area 693. ... Categories: Stub | Ecology ... This wave cloud pattern formed off of the ÃŽle Amsterdam in the far southern Indian Ocean, due to orographic lift of an airmass by the island, producing alternating bands of condensed and invisible humidity downwind of the island as the moist air moves in vertical waves and the moisture successively...

• The Alicante province also has a mostly dry Mediterranean to Continental climate transition zone. These are the innermost part of the Province (for example Villena) and some closer to the sea but at a higher elevation (for example Alcoy). Here winters are cool to cold and a few days of snow are not unusual; summers are mild to hot and rains at about 500 mm average and slightly more evenly distributed through the year than in the previous mentioned areas. The innermost part of this domain is more quite dry while the mountainous part reach slightly higher precipitation figures which allow Kermes Oak woods to thrive, such as the one in La Carrasqueta or in the Mariola range, both near Alcoy.

A continental climate is the climate typical of the middle-latitude interiors of the large continents of the Northern Hemisphere in the zone of westerly winds; similar climates exist along the east coasts and southwest coasts of the same continents, and also at higher elevations in certain other parts of... Binomial name Quercus coccifera L. The Kermes Oak (Quercus coccifera) is an oak in the turkey oak section Quercus sect. ...

Economy

Benidorm's skyline represents the paradigm of mass seasonal tourism in Spain

The main industries in Alicante province are, in the primary sector, intensive agriculture, specially in the fertile Vega Baja del Segura, Camp d'Elx (Elche's countryside) and vineyards in the inner part of the province (Monforte, Novelda, Pinós), also near the coast in the Marina Alta area. Fishing is important all along the coast, with important fishing harbours such as Santa Pola, Calp or Denia. Benidorm, Spain Photo by Fruggo, March 2001. ... Benidorm, Spain Photo by Fruggo, March 2001. ... Location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Benidorm (Valencian) Spanish name Benidorm Founded 1325 Postal code 0350X Area code 34 (Spain) + 96 (Alicante/Alacant) Website http://www. ...

Industry has been historically important in the textile sector around Alcoy. Footwear still remains as the flagship industrial sector of the province, which occurs in Elche, Elda, Petrer and Villena, both labour intensive footwear and, specially, textile are at a low ebb due to harsh competition from fast pace growing economies in Asia. The traditionally important toys industry around the Ibi and Onil area is another one competing internationally with those same areas. Ibi is a town located in the comarca of Alcoià, in the province of Alicante, Spain. ...

A sector which has gained preeminence during the last 20 years is marble quarrying and processing, it happens mostly in the Novelda and Pinós area.

Still, what the province is known for is its massive tourism sector. The Costa Blanca generally mild and sunny weather attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists from other European countries such as the UK, Germany, Belgium, Norway or France and also from other parts in Spain like Madrid. Thousands of families from another places own a second home in the Alicante province which they use for their vacation time. Costa Blanca refers to the over 200 kilometres of coastline belonging to the Province of Alicante in Spain. ...

Historical subdivisions

Alicante province in the Community of Valencia. Map subdivided according to the historical divisions.

Traditionally, the province of Alicante is divided into nine comarcas or comarques (in Valencian): Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Capital Valencia Official language(s) Valencian and Spanish Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 8th  23,255 km²  4. ... This is a list of the comarques (singular comarca) of Catalonia. ... Valencian (valencià) is the historical, traditional, and official name used in the Valencian Community (Spain) to refer to the language spoken therein, also known as Catalan (català) in the Spanish Autonomous Communities of Catalonia, Aragon and the Balearic Islands; in the country of Andorra; in the southern French region of...

• Comtat: 27,157 inhabitants; its capital is Cocentaina; textile industry and agriculture.
• Alcoià: It is subdivided into two clearly differentiated subcomarcas:
  • Valls d'Alcoi: 68,691 inhabitants; its capital is Alcoy; olive trees and textile industry; Moros y Cristianos festivals.
  • La Foia de Castalla or Hoya de Castalla: 41,021 inhabitants; its capital is Castalla; its most populous city is Ibi; industry of toys.
• Marina Alta: 175,310 inhabitants; its capital is Denia; it is the most rainy comarca; tourism.
• Marina Baja or Marina Baixa: 166,255 inhabitants; its capital is Benidorm; eminently tourist; beautiful beaches and mountains.
• Alto Vinalopó or Alt Vinalopó: 52,170 inhabitants; its capital is Villena; agriculture and footwear; Moros y Cristianos festivals.
• Vinalopó Medio or Vinalopó Mitjà: 165,294 inhabitants; its capital is Elda; footwear industry, marble, wines and grapes.
• Bajo Vinalopó or Baix Vinalopó: 267,954 inhabitants; its capital is Elche; agriculture, footwear and carpet industry, tourism; Misteri d'Elx festival.
• L'Alacantí: 443,261 inhabitants; its capital is Alicante; services and tourism; highly urbanised comarca; Bonfires of Saint John festival.
• Vega Baja del Segura or Baix Segura: 325,276 inhabitants; its capital is Orihuela; its most populous city is Torrevieja; agriculture and tourism.

Province Alicante Capital Cocentaina Largest city Cocentaina Demonym   Population 27,157 (2001) Area 376. ... Coat of arms of Cocentaina. ... Province Alicante Capital Alcoi/Alcoy Largest city Alcoi/Alcoy Demonym   Population 109,712 (2001) Area 540. ... Panoramic photograph of Alcoy taken in 1925. ... Parade of a Christian filà of Moros y Cristianos festival in Alcoy. ... View of Castalla and its walled castle. ... Ibi is a town located in the comarca of Alcoià, in the province of Alicante, Spain. ... Province Alicante Capital Dénia Largest city Dénia Demonym   Population 175,310 (2001) Area 693. ... The fort of Denia overlooks the city. ... Comarcas of Land of Valencia Capital Villajoyosa Population (2002) 147,039 inhab. ... Location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Benidorm (Valencian) Spanish name Benidorm Founded 1325 Postal code 0350X Area code 34 (Spain) + 96 (Alicante/Alacant) Website http://www. ... Province Alicante Capital Villena Largest city Villena Demonym   Population 52,332 (2006) Area 644. ... Castle of la Atalaya, in Villena. ... Parade of a Christian filà of Moros y Cristianos festival in Alcoy. ... Province Alicante Capital Elda Largest city Elda Demonym   Population 166,989 (2006) Area 797. ... ELDA, more correctly ELDA+, is also the acronym for the European Lighting Designers Association. ... Venus de Milo, front. ... It has been suggested that Veraison be merged into this article or section. ... Comarcas of Land of Valencia Capital Elche Population (2002) 248,350 inhab. ... Comarcas of Valencian Country Capital Elx Population (2002) 248,350 inhab. ... View of Elche Elche (in Spanish) or Elx (in Catalan) is a city in the Alicante province in Valencia, Spain, near the city of Alicante. ... The manuscript of the Mystery Play of Elx, 1709. ... More important cities by: Municipalities of the comarca The Alacantí or lAlacantí is a comarca in the Land of Valencia, Spain. ... Location of Alicante in Spain Alicante (Castillian Spanish) or Alacant (Valencian) is the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of the Alacantí, in the southern part of the Valencian community, Spain, a historic Mediterranean port. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Province Alicante Capital Orihuela Largest city Torrevieja Demonym   Population 325,276 (2001) Area 3820 km2 Population density 85. ... Orihuela is a city and municipality located in the province of Alicante, Spain. ... Torrevieja is a seaside city and municipality located on the Costa Blanca in the province of Alicante, in south-eastern Spain. ...

History and Politics

The Iberians were the oldest documented people living in what today is the Alicante province. Belonging to these there are several archaeologic sites from which is specially known the one in La Serreta (near Alcoy) because the longest inscriptions remaining in the undeciphered Iberian language were found there. The Lady of Baza, made by Iberians The Iberians were an ancient, Pre-Indo-European people who inhabited the east and southeast of the Iberian Peninsula in prehistoric and historic times. ... The Iberian language describes a linguistic group identified with the Iberian civilization (7th century BC – 1st century BC), formed in the eastern and south-eastern regions of the Iberian peninsula. ...

Along the coast and contemporarily to the Iberians, the seafaring Phoenicians (in Guardamar) and Greeks (along the coastal section to the north of the Alicante city) settled stable trading colonies and interacted with the former (see Lady of Elche for the most renowned archeological piece of this period). Phoenicia was an ancient civilization in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal plain of what is now Lebanon and Syria. ... Frontal view The famous but controversial Lady of Elche or Dama de Elche (the National Archaeological Museum of Madrid calls her enigmática), is a polychrome stone bust that was revealed as found by chance in 1897 at La Alcudia, an archaeological site that was on a private estate about...

After a brief Carthaginian period, the Romans took over. Romanization in this part of Iberia was intense, the Via Augusta communicated this part of the Empire to the metropoli and so several cities thrived, from which the one known as Ilici Augusta (now Elche) even reached the status of colonia. This article is about the ancient city-state of Carthage in North Africa. ... Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... Camí vell de Panissars, la Jonquera (Alt Empordà) El projecte dexcavació daquest jaciment es va desenvolupar al llarg de dues campanyes, entre els anys 1998 i 1999. ... View of Elche Elche (in Spanish) or Elx (in Catalan) is a city in the Alicante province in Valencia, Spain, near the city of Alicante. ... A Roman colonia (plural coloniae) was originally a Roman outpost established in conquered territory to secure it. ...

After a brief period of Visigothic ruling, the area was taken by Islamic armies and became a part of Al Andalus. From the 13th century, kings like Ferdinand III of Castile, James I of Aragon, Alfonso X of Castile, James II of Aragon reconquered the cities that Moors occupied. What today is the Alicante province was initially split between the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon by means of the Treaty of Almizra, however later on the whole territory became under the control of the Kingdom of Valencia, which was a component Kingdom of the Crown of Aragon. The Visigoths, originally Tervingi, or Vesi (the noble ones), one of the two main branches of the Goths (of which the Ostrogothi were the other), were one of the loosely-termed Germanic peoples that disturbed the late Roman Empire. ... Al-Andalus (Arabic: الأندلس al-andalus) was the Arabic name given to those parts of the Iberian Peninsula governed by Muslims at various times in the period between 711 and 1492. ... United arms of Castile and León which Ferdinand first used. ... James I of Aragon (Catalan: Jaume I, Spanish: Jaime I, Occitan: Jacme I) (Montpellier, February 2, 1208 – July 27, 1276) surnamed the Conqueror, was the king of Aragon, count of Barcelona and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276. ... Alfonso X and his court. ... James II of Aragon James II, King of Aragon (10 August 1267 – 2 November 1327), in Spanish Jaime II, in Catalan Jaume II, also James II of Barcelona, called The Just (Catalan: El Just) was the second son of Peter III of Aragon and Constance of Sicily. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Moors were the medieval Muslim inhabitants of the western Mediterranean and western Sahara, including: al-Maghrib (the coastal and mountain lands of present day Morocco and Algeria, and Tunisia although Tunisia often is separately called Ifriqiya after the former Roman province of Africa); al-Andalus (the former Islamic sovereign... King of Aragons arms in 15th century The Crown of Aragon or Aragonese Empire was the regime of a large portion of what is now Spain, plus numerous Mediterranean possessions, for much of the later Middle Ages. ... The Treaty of Almizra or Almiçra was the third of a series of three treaties between the Crowns of Aragon and Castile meant to determine the limits of their expansion into Andalusia so as to prevent squabbling between the Christian princes. ... History of Spain Series Prehistoric Spain Roman Spain Medieval Spain Age of Reconquest Age of Expansion Age of Enlightenment Reaction and Revolution First Spanish Republic The Restoration Second Spanish Republic Spanish Civil War The Dictatorship Modern Spain Topics Economic History Military History Social History The Aragonese Empire was the regime...

for more details on the Medieval period, see Kingdom of Valencia History of Spain Series Prehistoric Spain Roman Spain Medieval Spain Age of Reconquest Age of Expansion Age of Enlightenment Reaction and Revolution First Spanish Republic The Restoration Second Spanish Republic Spanish Civil War The Dictatorship Modern Spain Topics Economic History Military History Social History The Aragonese Empire was the regime...

Alicante contributes with 11 deputies in the Spanish Parliament and with 36 deputies in the Corts Valencianes, the regional Parliament of the Valencian Community. The Spanish Congress of Deputies (Spanish: Congreso de los Diputados) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spains legislative branch. ... Capital Valencia Official language(s) Valencian and Castilian Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 8th  23,255 km²  4. ...

See also

• List of municipalities in Alicante
• Alicante Airport

This is a list of the municipalities in the province of Alacant or Alicante, in the autonomous community for the Valencian Country, Spain. ... Alicante International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional de Alicante), (IATA: ALC, ICAO: LEAL), originally named El Altet, is the main airport for the regions of Alicante and Murcia in Spain. ...

External links and notes

• Excma. Diputación Provincial de Alicante
• Alicante Directo
• Alicante business directory and articles for Tourists
• Detailed Alicante City Guide with detailed videos and sightseeing tips. From a local citizen.

Coordinates: 38°30′N, 0°30′W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...