Zumaia » Location » Natural surroundings » The Bedua Route and Islands
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| Bedua salt marshes |
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The Bedua route is located in the high section of the Urola estuary, before the town centre. After passing Oikia where the valley is open, it gradually closes until it occupies the area between the two hills with steep slopes that drop suddenly towards the river. The left side is occupied by orchards at the start, and is later replaced by small woodland and scrubs; in the last section, more orchards are seen next to the Egurko factory. On the right-hand side, in the mid-seventies, a levelling and land-filling operation was carried out on the area that occupies the surface next to the channel.
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| Bedua islands |
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It is an estuary zone in which the dynamics of the tides and the contributions of the Urola river have formed a peculiar ecosystem, in which interesting botanical and faunal communities are found. Traditionally these flat and fertile lands have been used for cultivation and industrialisation, drying a large part of the salt marshes. As a consequence of this, most of the salt marsh spaces in the Urola estuary have disappeared.
Flora and Fauna
In spite of its small surface area, it is noteworthy that the small islands have remained in a good state of conservation. Also of note, is the presence of some rare species in Guipuzkoa, peculiar to well preserved salt marshes. The section nearest to Oikia is influenced little by the tide, and there the riverside vegetation can be appreciated, especially the alder and plane trees, accompanied by various small plants.
The birds in Bedua do not differ from those described in Santiago, since the proximity and similar characteristics of these two zones allow the birds to continuously move from one to the other.
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