AN EXCEPTIONAL PLACE
A little history...
The use of salt in the lagoon of La Mata, dates from the Roman era (S.I.C.), although there is no written source until S. XIII.
It is not until 1803 when the industrial exploitation of the Torrevieja lagoon begins.
From that moment until then, exploitation has evolved from an almost handmade model to the modern facilities that are currently available.
The Salinas de Torrevieja, constitute the first salt producer in Europe and are the only ones that use floating averages for salt extraction, which allows to guarantee the water sheet throughout the year both in the La Mata lagoon and in the lagoon from Torrevieja.
Salt production in Torrevieja
Its production of more than 600,000 tons of salt per year stands out, being considered the largest in Europe and unique in the world with its extraction system.
Las Salinas de Torrevieja, produces different formats of sea salt for sale both in the national market and in the international market, dedicating almost 50% of its production for export. Freight and forwarding is by land or sea.
Thanks to these facilities, salt boats with a capacity of up to 30,000 tons can be loaded. The main destinations are the countries of northern Europe and promptly the United States.
Salt is the only mineral that is edible and also along with water, the only food product that has no expiration date.
Another curious fact is that salt has more than 14,000 uses. The main ones are:
· The thaw for roads.
· The chemical industry: for the manufacture of plastic (Chlorine is used) or the manufacture of glass (Sodium is used).
· In the textile industry: for fixing colors or dehydration of skins.
· In the pharmaceutical industry: saline sera.
· In animal feed for feed processing.
· And the best known, for human consumption either for direct consumption or for food preservation through the salting technique.
A singular natural space
The Salinas de Torrevieja are located in the Natural Park of the lagoons of Mata and Torrevieja, which represent an enclave of high ecological value that constitutes the widest part of the humid areas in the south of the province of Alicante. This environment is also protected by other protection figures such as: ZEPA Zone (Zone of Special Protection for Birds), LIC (Place of Community Interest), Ramsar Wetland or Natura 2000 Network among others. Thus, together with the Hondo and the Salinas de Santa Pola, they form the so-called wetland triangle of southern Alicante, of great importance for the development of the biological cycles of numerous species since they use it both in their migrations and in their nesting or wintering
This wetland guarantees a great food reserve and a place for the reproduction of many birds that visit it every year in the spring. In addition it also constitutes an essential enclave in the migration of birds that use it as resting areas on their long journey.
In it we can find various types of birds such as terns, terns, white jars, cormorant, egrets, red partridge, Avocetas, flamingos, picofina gulls, Audouin seagull and picofino gull.
As for the vegetation, it stands out the saladar plants adapted to live in very saline environments such as soda, or the barrel plants.