Guardamar del Segura
Municipality in Valencian Community, Spain / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Guardamar del Segura (Valencian pronunciation: [ˌɡwaɾðaˈmaɾ ðel seˈɣuɾa]) or briefly Guardamar is a municipality of the province of Alicante located at the mouth of the river Segura in southern Valencia (autonomous community), Spain. It is a Mediterranean resort, with a large pine forest abutting an 11-km-long white sand beach.
Guardamar del Segura | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 38°5′23″N 0°39′18″W | |
Country | Spain |
Autonomous community | Valencian Community |
Province | Alicante |
Comarca | El Baix Segura / La Vega Baja |
Judicial district | Torrevieja |
Founded | 10th century |
Government | |
• Mayor | Carmen Verdú (2011) (PP) |
Area | |
• Total | 35.58 km2 (13.74 sq mi) |
Elevation | 25 m (82 ft) |
Population (2018)[1] | |
• Total | 15,058 |
• Density | 420/km2 (1,100/sq mi) |
Demonym | Guardamarenco (m) guardamarenca (f) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Postal code | 03140 and 03149 |
Dialing code | 965 and 966 |
Official language(s) | Spanish and Valencian |
Historically an area of fishermen and farmers, Guardamar del Segura is the southernmost point where Valencian is spoken. A Phoenician colony, called Herna by Roman geographer Avienius in his book Ora Maritima was the first settlement near the mouth of Segura river,[2] In Spanish, "guardar" means "safekeeping" and "mar" means "sea", and this is another possible basis for its current name.
Guardamar is the southernmost Catalan-speaking town and in 1991 41.8% of the town's residents could speak it.[3] Guardamar hosts local festivals like Moros i Cristians, L'Encantà, and Fogueres de Sant Joan, which commemorate its history.