Santa Clara Island (San Sebastian)
Santa Clara Island (Spanish: Isla de Santa Clara; Basque: Santa Klara uhartea) is located in San Sebastian, Spain, in the middle of the bay of Donostia. It is located between the two most importants mountains of the city, Urgull and Igueldo.
It measures 400 meters across, and rises to a height of 48 meters, with steep sides.
The island has a small beach which only appears with low tide. There is a small bar and a small port. Despite the small size of the island, the beach has a lifeguard service because of its popularity in the summer. The port of Santa Clara is connected by ferry, running every 30 minutes, with Donostia.
The island has an uninhabited lighthouse.
Wildlife and plants
The island supports a range of exotic species including:
- Tamarix gallica (French tamarisk)
- Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (Lawson's cypress )
- Arundo donax (giant cane)
- Populus nigra (black poplar)
- Betula celtiberica (birch)
- Ficus carica (common fig)
- Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust tree)
- Ligustrum ovalifolium (oval-leaved privet)
- Euonymus japonicus (Japanese spindle)
- Geranium robertianum (herb Robert)
- Pteridium aquilinum (common bracken)
- Trifolium reptans (clover)
- Crithmum maritimum (rock samphire)
Animals include the Iberian wall lizard (Podarcis hispanica sebastiani) as well as gulls, the European shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) and the common guillemot (Uria aalge) .
History
At the end of the 16th century, the people of Donostia (San Sebastián) who were infected by the plague were transferred to the island to prevent the spread of infection. The island of Santa Clara is state property, transferred by the state to the commune of San Sebastian under the Decree of October 31, 1968.
References
External links
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Coordinates: 43°19′17″N 1°59′56″W / 43.3214°N 1.9989°W