Mallorca's most beautiful beaches: where does all this beauty come from?
A walk on the beach on the most beautiful beaches in Mallorca in spring. It is usually still too cold for swimming. A stiff breeze often blows on the shallow south-east coast at this time of year. The waves roll powerfully onto the sandy beach. Of course, there is not much sand to be seen here. Large piles of dark algae cover the edge between land and water. And that's a good thing. The heavy, damp piles fortify the beach and the wind and waves cannot carry away the light grains of sand.
What is piling up here and defying the weather is not algae. It is the foliage of an aquatic plant.
It is called Posidonia oceanica, sea grass or Neptune grass in German. It belongs to the marine flowering plants. The species is only found in the Mediterranean. Its narrow, green leaves photosynthesize, which is why the plant needs clean, translucent water. Neptune grass forms large underwater meadows off the coast of the Balearic Islands. Alongside coral reefs and tropical rainforests, it is one of the most important ecosystem service providers in the world, as it binds a lot of CO2, carbon dioxide. This means that people derive a lot of benefit from them, especially on Mallorca.
Seaweed is the secret of the island's beauty. Because it ensures clear water and fine sand. It has helped Mallorca to a unique career as a vacation destination. The marine research institute Imedea in Esporles has been studying the interplay between waves, wind and vegetation for more than 15 years. A group led by biologist Núria Marbà wants to know why beaches such as s'Amarador, Cala s'Almunia and Cala Llombards are so beautiful. Their explanation is simple and at the same time shows how fragile the interplay is.
Biologist Núria Marbà:
That's why the Mediterranean is so blue and the water so clear. and the beaches on Mallorca are the most beautiful.
"Neptune grass stores suspended particles, which sink to the bottom where they become substrate. And it releases a lot of oxygen into the water," explains Marbà, "which is why the Mediterranean is so blue and the water so clear.
S'Amarador is part of the large double bay of Cala Mondragó. The beach is 145 meters long and has been voted the most beautiful in Europe several times.
Seagrass meadows - That's why Mallorca has the most beautiful beaches and bays!
Seagrass meadows are also the purest sand and fish factories. You can see this when snorkeling or diving. White, calcareous structures sit on the long leaves. When the leaves die, these particles become part of the sand, along with the remains of mussels and snail shells, which the waves grind away in an eternal game. The particles then drift ashore and cover the beaches of the shallow south and east coasts of Mallorca. Many animals seek out the meadows to spawn and hide their eggs there. And small fish come to feed or seek shelter from predators between the long leaves. Stony corals or tunicates live here as well as squid, which in turn serve as food for larger animals, for example endangered species such as the Mediterranean monk seal or the loggerhead turtle.
But seagrass is one of the most endangered species worldwide. Polluted water, densely built-up coasts, port facilities, invasive species and the warming of the Mediterranean are its biggest enemies - as well as the anchors of yachts that tear furrows in the meadows when they come to light.
Once the seagrass has disappeared, the water becomes murky and loses its bright blue hue. And where the plants are absent, the animals are also absent - and the sandy beaches lack replenishment. If the balance is disturbed, humans have to intervene. Where the coast is built up and the water is clouded by poorly treated sewage or heavy shipping traffic, sand has to be piled up regularly. The sand is taken from the deep seabed. It is gray and coarse.
The Balearic government has done something to counter this. Seagrass was placed under protection in 2017. This means that nothing may be built or changed where the meadows spread. Anchoring is also prohibited there. Buoys on a sandy bottom and an underwater map show sailors where they can moor.
"Nobody wants to deliberately destroy seagrass beds," says biologist Núria Marbà, "most people are simply not aware of the damage their anchor can cause."
Marbà and her colleagues from the marine research institute Imedea have now started to grow seagrass in the laboratory and replant it in places off the coast. Whether the project is successful will only become clear in a few years' time, as seagrass grows very slowly. It is a so-called genet: individual plants are connected to each other by horizontally growing shoots, known as rhizomes. They hang together and gradually cover the sandy seabed.
Seagrass placed under nature conservation
Sunbathing in the soft sand on the most beautiful beaches in Mallorca
Anyone who is frightened by the dark patches underwater when swimming should know that everything that makes our Mallorca vacation so beautiful is created down there.
Hardly any other island, apart from the neighboring islands of Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera, offers its visitors such a soft bed for sunbathing like Mallorca.
After all, there's nothing better than spending an afternoon in the warm sand or feeling the fine grains between your toes on a walk along the beach. Hardly any other experience of nature is so closely associated with relaxation. Warm sand and cool water are nature's best wellness ideas. And they are the perfect invitation to do nothing: We can be uninhibitedly lazy on the beach.
These are our
most beautiful beaches in Mallorca
Cala Gat: Small bay with fine sand
Cala de Sant Font Rocky bay on lightly wooded rocky slopes
Platja Cala Millor and Platja Sa Coma: Wide sandy beaches with very good water quality
Porto Cristo
Cala Estany: Surrounded by rock faces, well frequented, hardly any waves
Cala Gran: beautiful rocky bay with some greenery, the beach reaches 100 meters deep into the land
Cala d'Or: Small beach at the hotel of the same name
Santanyí
Platja s'Amarador: between Porto Pedro and Cala Figuera, Mondragó Nature Park, fine sand
Cala Llombards: dreamy bay next to a pine forest, many families
Cala s'Almonia: small bay between rocks, suitable for diving
Seaweed balls
Foliage
Mussels & snails
Sponges
Sand
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