Cabrera Sea Bottom Balearic Islands Part 1

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▶FULL DOCUMENTARIES | • http://planetdoc.tv/playlist-full-doc... • ▶ Spanish video: http://planetdoc.tv/documental-fondo-... • The Cabrera Archipelago National Park covers a surface area of 10.021 hectares, only 1,836 of which are on land. Eighteen islands and islets and the marine environment protect the land and aquatic species intimately related to the Mediterranean Sea. • The Balearic Islands have a mild climate in winter and hot in summer. • The erosion of the limestone has resulted in trimmed and uneven coastlines with a combination of impregnable cliffs with coves and paradise beaches. • The isolation of the islands has resulted in a very high number of endemic species. Of the archipelago’s close to 450 species of vascular plants, 30 are endemic; the same is true of the land vertebrates, with the exception of the fowl, which have easy contact with the continent. • The Cabrera sea bottom have tropical traits. The absolute clearness of its crystalline waters, free from continental clay and mud, produces a luminosity which allows for the existence of submarine vegetation at greater depths and therefore of the animals which live among the algae. • In the area close to the surface the light is very intense enable the proliferation of plankton, algae and consequently the different species of fish, particularly herbivores. • Further under, between thirty and forty metres, visibility is reduced. Large blocks of rock raise the relief of the ocean bed to form boundless caves and nooks and crannies which serve as places of refuge for the different fish species. • More than two hundred fish species live in the waters of the Cabrera archipelago, from the diminutive whitebait measuring 5 centimetres to the scarce and gigantic sharks which can measure up to 12 metres. • This variety, which has lured fishermen from nearby coasts since time immemorial, has become, since the creation of the National Park in April 1991, the goal of scuba diving fans. • Conger eels are potentially dangerous animals. Behind their thick, fleshy lips they conceal a front row of long and powerful incisors and behind these another row of smaller but very sharp conical teeth. • Despite their ferocious appearance, moray eels are timid fish which are only dangerous when forced to defend themselves. But their fear-inspiring faces have given them a terrible reputation while their neighbours, the conger eels, much more dangerous to man, are not considered a threat. • The Cabrera Archipelago National Park is an example of its potential and its beauty, but also of the fragility of this threatened ecosystem which requires the joint effort of all bordering countries to guarantee its future.

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