Cabo de Gata-Níjar

The first protected marine and land area in Andalusia, declared in 1987, on a volcanic coastline of cliffs, caves and Posidonia meadows. The classic dives include the Arrecife de las Sirenas, the Cueva del Francés, the Piedra de los Meros, El Ancla — a historic anchorage for mining ships where the anchor that gives the site its name lies at 18 m — and the wreck of El Arna, a Czechoslovak steamer some 100 m long that sank in 1928 off the Cabo de Gata lighthouse and lies between 27 and 42 m.