C CORRU UBEDO O NAT TURAL L PARK RK Aer ial photo o of the area t taken by pl lane. Introdu uction The Corru ubedo Sand -Dunes and d Carregal and Vixán lagoons N Natural Park k was given n protected d 5 th June 199 status on 5 92. This nat tural park i s located in n the Barba nza Peninsu ula and bel ongs to the e municipali ity of Ribei ra (A Coru ña province e, Galicia. S Spain). It is s one of the e most rema arkable and d interesting sites in Ga lician natur re. A nature reserve is a an area of a territory, n not very tran nsformed or r spoilt by h human activ vities and ha abitation, an nd due to th he beauty o f its landsc ape, the un iqueness of f its ecosyste ems, fauna, flora and g geology, has s ecological l, aesthetic, educationa al and scient tific values, , its protecti ion deserves s special ate ention. In th hat way tha at was writte en down in n the Law 9/ /2001 (21th h August 200 01), related to nature p reservation n in Galicia. 1 1
Physica al envir ronmen nt The coast along the C Corrubedo bay is low w, with wide e areas of sandy beac ches. The w wind-related d movemnt o of this sand dy deposits make poss sible the de velopment of seashore e belts of d dunes, often n more or le ess colonize ed by halop phitic vegeta ation. The w wind-relate d movemen nt of seasho ore belts of f dunes, ofte en more or l less coloniz ed by halop phitic vegeta ation. This strong g wind activ vity formed a mobile du dune, the big ggest in Nor rthwestern I Iberia, more e than 1 km m long and b etween 200 0-300 m wid de, with 12- -15 m at its highest Nor rtheast. The dunar belt damm med up the w waters, so w we have Ca arregal lago on, that is f flooted and d drained in n relation to tidal movem ments, so w we have a ma arsh here. Vixán lago oon, more p roperly a la ake, was cre eated by a si imilar proce ess. Nowada ays is conn ected to the e sea only in n equinoctia al periods. T The freshwa ater charact ter of this la ake gives it t a different t ecological l backgroun d compared d with the br rackish Car rregal marsh h. The r river netwo ork of the C Corrubedo Park. 2 2
Flora We can find in the natural park a wide representation of the botanic communities belongning to the marshes, lagoons and beaches in the galician shore. Here we have a noteworthy place to watch this unique and interesting flora. Its variaety is the characteristic that makes this place different. In the dunes, sandy grasslands and in the nearby wtlands we can find 237 plant species (23 of them legally protected, because of their status of rarities or endemics). We also can find pinewoods, mixed with common oak, alder, willos and cultures, due to the human activities in the area. Fauna The complex and diverse habitats of the nature reserve make possible the ocurrence of a great number of animal species. In 14 amphibian species recorded in Galicia, 10 are known to be resident in the natural park. We can find 14 different reptile species, in 20 recorded in the whole of Galicia, and also a huge representation of mammals and marine and coastal species. Its ornithological value is plain to see because this nature reserve was included in the International Important Wetlands Convention (Ramsar, 2th February 1971). We can distinguish three areas for birds: Carregal marshes: they gather a great number of gulls and plovers. Vixán lake: with a surrounding reed belt has the main species of ducks and rallidae. The sea: we can find there divers, scoters and shags. As breeding species we can find the mallard ( Anas platyrhynchos ), little grebe ( Tachybaptus ruficollis ), coot ( Fulica atra ) and the kentish plover ( Charadrius alexandrinus ). The latest show an important number of breeding pairs in the entire Galician population. Historical and archaeological heritage The park and its surroundings show different samples of archaeological and ethnographic heritage. Pipín burial mound. It's a burial chamber ("mámoa" in Galician language), normally circular in shape, formed by several large stones belonging to the Neolithic culture characteristic northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. It is more than 5,000 years old. Another megalithic monument from this period and near Corrubedo is the Axeitos dolmen. Castro of Baixo Porto. A Celtic “castro” is a fortified pre-Roman town usually, although there are examples below that lasted until the Middle Ages, present especially in the northwest and in parts of the plateau of the Iberian Peninsula. Its are small fortified settlements formed by circular buildings and located predominantly on the coast and in strategic places on inland. Castros and mámoas are two of the most notable of which is now known as the ancient Celtic culture, which extends around Ireland, southern England and the west coast of France. The Porto de Baixo castro is 3000 years old and it is situated near the sea. Amendo mills. Despite the small gap that must navigate the rivers of the park, in the area there were several water mills, of which these two are preserved and arranged today. The area has many other signs of this rich etnographic heritage such as tile furnaces, granaries named “hórreos” in Galician language (high rectangular building on a stone base to store grain or agricultural products), stone fences, stone circular dovecotes... In this guide scientific species names are in italics, in English they are in black, red in Spanish and green in Galician. 3
Pipín n mámoa Ca stro of Baix ixo Porto Sights in n the Corr rubedo Na atural Pa ark (in Ga alician lan nguage) 4 4
STUDEN NTS AND D TEACH HERS IN THE CO RRUBED DO NATIO ONAL PA ARK 25 TH OC CTOBER, 2014 Visitor r reception ce entre in Corr rubedo Park Towards the park inte erpretation c lassroom Inside the pa I ark interpreta ation classroo om Different t fishing gea ar To wards the Vi ilar beach thr hrough Pinus pinaster for rest Ga ateway to acc cess the Vila r beach Pipín C Celtic tomb, covered by l lichens 5 5
Pinus ra adiata , a pine e reforestatio on in the past t Pi nus pinaster , widespread d pine on the Galician coa ast A big specime en of Pinus p inaster "H órreo", Galic cian storehou use for agricu ultural produ ucts Phr ragmites aust tralis (comm mon reed) Mendo o river passin ng near a wat ter mill Laurus nob bilis and Callitri iche stagnalis in n the Mendo riv ver Laur rel ( Laurus n nobilis ) in bl oom 6 6
Com mmon willow w ( Salix atro cinerea ) Fireplace and stone w wheel in the w water mill Line of wicke L er ( Salix vimi inalis ) Common hawthorn ( C Crataegus m onogyna ) Vix xán lagoon su urrounded by y reed ( Phrag gmites austr ralis ). At the bottom, the Corrubedo v village 7 7
Tent bird watchin g Teacher r and student ts watching b birds Duc cks and other r Anatidae in n the Vixán la agoon 8 8
Group photo at the end of f the tour, rig ght next to th he Vixán lago oon 9
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