Beaches and coves

The municipality of Ciutadella in Minorca is host to 21 beaches and some other bathing zones of different sizes and topologies. Here a range of beaches can be found, from beaches in urban zones and developed areas with all types of services available, to virgin beaches located in natural areas and with few services at hand, or different coves and ideal bathing zones to enjoy Minorca's transparent and crystalline waters.

Sometimes, the remains of posidonia leaves can be found on the seashore; these leaves are not rubbish, but rather indicate that you are in a natural ecosystem.

Oceanic posidonia (seaweed)

Posidonia lives underwater forming extensive prairies along the coast. This plant has an essential function for the maintenance of the quality of beaches, whilst it is alive it produces oxygen and it fixes the sand at the bottom of the sea, thus maintaining transparent waters; furthermore it serves as a natural habitat and refuge to a multitude of marine species such as fish, molluscs, crustaceans, sponges, seaweed, etc. Every year the plant looses its dead leaves and a portion of these arrive to the coast driven by currents. These leaves washed up on shore have an important ecological function, as they protect the initial shoreline from rough seas, and once the leaves are dry, hard shelled animals that lived within the leaves decompose producing the sands that make up the beaches. Recent scientific studies estimate that 85% of the sand on Minorca's beaches comes from the organisms that live in the posidonia prairies.