Ses Salines
Ses Salines ( Castilian Las Salinas ) is a municipality on the Spanish Balearic island of Mallorca. It counts 5273 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2013). In 2006, the foreigners in the community was 24.6 % ( 1,108 ), the proportion of German population 6.8% (308). The eponymous main town of Ses Salines seven kilometers inland counts 2350 inhabitants (2009 ), however, the largest settlement with a population of 2920 (2009) Colonia de Sant Jordi, a tourist resort on the coast. The name of the village derives from the very day the salt extraction serving large saline.
- 3.1 beaches
- 3.2 Fixed
- 4.1 salt extraction
Geography
Flora and Fauna
The flora is due to the salt content of the soil; it outweighs the native evergreen, the Spanish pipe and halophytes. On the hill with a lower salt content junipers, pine forests and rosemary and Zistrosensträucher are at home.
Own, highly Darwinian flora and fauna has at the edges of the salt basin formed over the years. Only a few plants are able to live in permanently wet salt areas. These include the chloride -tolerant, mostly wurstig, fleshy succulents such as the shrub samphire; the sulfate - halophytes to which the feathery, always slightly disheveled -looking tamarisk and the shrubby herb salt include, reduce their metabolism by small leaf surfaces.
Contrary to expectations, the salt ponds color a red. This is due to occurrence of Halobacteriums, a micro- organism. This contains red to orange-colored carotenoids. Due to these dyes discolors the brine. The halobacteria are the only seven millimeters large salt cancer as a food source, which is in turn a variety of wading birds such as the Black-winged Stilt, Redshank and shovelers serves as food. Approximately 170 species of birds live near the salt pans, even the osprey gets there sometimes a snack from.
Conservation
Parts of the municipal area has been declared a nature reserve. Within this protected area is the famous beach of Es Trenc and the estate S'Avall, which is the largest contiguous to privately owned estate in Mallorca.
History
The Talayots and Megalithdenkmäler that originate from the Bronze Age, are clues on the origin of the place. The salt flats of Sa Vall and Colonia de Sant Jordi are the oldest of Mallorca. Punic traders began here already with the salt. The salt was still interesting for Romans, Byzantines, Arabs and Christians. The all-important Salzvorkommnisse also explain the etymological origin of the church today.
Culture and sights
Worth seeing are the remains of prehistoric and early historic settlements of Talaia Joana and the talaiots of Na Mera, It Mitjà Gran and Els Antigors Punic remains on the island Na Guardia and remains of Roman ships near the coast. Furthermore, the close location to the salt flats fort S'Estany from the 15th century, the observation tower of S'Avall from the 14th century and located next to the parish church fortress Torre de Ca'n Bàrbara that I. King James military purposes served. The lighthouse Far des Cap de ses Salines at Cap de ses Salines, belonging to the municipality of Santanyi, as an observation post and out for walks and the plant Botanicactus, a privately -operated botanical garden with a huge collection of cacti.
Beaches
The municipal area include beaches:
- It Carbó y Ses Roquetes
- It Dolç
- Es Trenc
- Els Estanys
- Platja d' es Port
Festivals
- Sant Antoni ( 17 January)
- Sant Jordi (April 23 )
- La Fira Espectacle de Ses Salines (May 1)
- Summer festivals of Colonia de Sant Jordi (first Saturday and Sunday in August)
- San Bartomeu (24th August)
Economy
Salt extraction
Since 1850, a company engaged in the production of sea salt into food purposes on an industrial scale. Every year in April, the sea water ( with about 4.7 grams per liter salinity) into square pools, so-called cocons, embedded edge length of 250 meters. Some 130 hectares of artificial salt marshes filled so every spring. 300 acres there were 100 years ago. During the evaporation process, in the summer the water is repeatedly diverted in another tank in order to make a fine crystallization of the salt. From the surface, the much finer Flor de Sal is doing by hand " harvested ", which is very popular with food lovers. In September excavator wear from the thick salt crust. This is then ground in Bergen stockpiled until it is cleaned and packaged for consumption. Today, annually about 8000 tons of table salt still be won.