- Garrotxa
Spanish comarca
comarca_name = Garrotxa
location_
province = Girona
capital =Olot
largest_city =Olot
demonym =
population = 47,747 (2001)
area = 734.2
pop_density = 65.0
municipalities =Argelaguer |Besalú |Beuda |Castellfollit de la Roca |Maià de Montcal |Mieres|Montagut i Oix |Olot |Les Planes d'Hostoles |Les Preses |Riudaura |Sales de Llierca |Sant Aniol de Finestres |Sant Feliu de Pallerols |Sant Ferriol |Sant Jaume de Llierca |Sant Joan les Fonts |Santa Pau |Tortellà |La Vall d'en Bas |La Vall de Bianya Garrotxa is a comarca (county) in
Catalonia ,Spain . Its population in2001 was 47,747, more than half of them in the capital city ofOlot . It is roughly equivalent to the historical comarca ofBesalú .Geography
Garrotxa borders the comarques of
Ripollès ,Osona ,Selva ,Gironès ,Pla de l'Estany ,Alt Empordà , andVallespir . It includes the upper basin of the RiverFluvià and the headwaters of the riversMuga ,Amer andLlémena .From both the human point of view and that of physical geography, the comarca has a clear division into two subcomarques. Extending north from the valley of the Fluvià, is Alta Garrotxa (Upper Garrotxa), while the southern part is sometimes called the comarca of Olot, after the capital city.
The Fluvià flows toward the
Mediterranean , and has a relatively small flow of water (1.07 m³/s at Olot).The high humidity of Garrotxa contrasts with the that of the neighboring comarques. Annual rainfall is over 1000 mm (about 40 inches). It is said that "Si no plou a Olot, no plou enlloc" ("if it's not raining in Olot, it is not raining anywhere."). Winter temperatures hover around freezing; in August, temperatures average 27.7°C (about 80°F). Thermal inversions are relatively common; Alta Garrotxa and Puigsacalm, particularly, have more of a mountain climate, with snowfall figuring more prominently.
Vegetation varies with the climate. Alta Garrotxa and the east part of the comarca have typically Mediterranean climate and vegetation; the rest has a sub-Mediterranean climate, tending toward an Atlantic climate in the most humid areas.
Volcanic Zone
In the western part of the comarca, the land around Olot and
Santa Pau contains some 40 well-preserved volcanic cones atCroscat , important flows ofbasalt iclava , and the volcano ofSanta Margarida . This zone is protected within the 120.07 km² "Parc Natural de la Zona Volcànica de la Garrotxa".The principal focus is the plain and hillsides of Olot. A field of lava covers most of the plain (some 25 km²), and lava flows continue down the valley of the Fluvià to
Sant Jaume de Llierca . Another important sector is in the tectonic valley of theRiver Ser , at the foot of the faultline escarpment of theCorb andFinestres ranges, with the volcanos of Santa Margarida and Croscat. The lava flows down the valley past the Sallent de Santa Pau to the mill ofGibert . There is a third group of volcanos in the valley of the riverLlémena and the stream ofAdri .There appear to have been old eruptions around
Olot , because one can findbasalt boulder s from thePliocene era in the valley of the Fluvià.In
1982 , the Generalitat de Catalunya (the government of Catalonia) declared the zone comprising the valleys of the Fluvià and Ser and the upper part of the valleys ofAiguavella andSant Iscle to be Natural Places of National Interest. They also declared most of the volcanic cones and theFageda d'en Jordà (abeech woods rooted in lava) to be Integral Geobotanical Reserves.Population and economic activity
9.4% of the population are engaged in agriculture and primary production, 59.4% in industry and energy, and 31.2% in the service sectors. Agricultural land has been shrinking, but Garrotxa remains the leading producer of
maize . The livestock sector is actually expanding, especiallypig s andcattle .Industry, centered around Olot,
Sant Joan les Fonts , andBesalú , has been generally on the rise since1940 . The most important industries are textiles, especially knitwear, the processing of locally grown food, and metallurgy. Behind these come papermaking, chemistry, and plastics.Municipalities
Populations are from
2005 .*
Argelaguer - pop. 408
*Besalú - pop. 2,211
*Beuda - pop. 147
*Castellfollit de la Roca - pop. 964
*Maià de Montcal - pop. 374
*Mieres - pop. 352
*Montagut i Oix - pop. 875
*Olot - pop. 31,271
*Les Planes d'Hostoles - pop. 1,754
*Les Preses - pop. 1,657
*Riudaura - pop. 426
*Sales de Llierca - pop. 117
*Sant Aniol de Finestres - pop. 286
*Sant Feliu de Pallerols - pop. 1,223
*Sant Ferriol - pop. 206
*Sant Jaume de Llierca - pop. 785
*Sant Joan les Fonts - pop. 2,631
*Santa Pau - pop. 1,541
*Tortellà - pop. 714
*La Vall d'en Bas - pop. 2,616
*La Vall de Bianya - pop. 1,228References
* [http://www.ine.es/inebase/cgi/um?M=%2Ft20%2Fe260%2Fa2005%2F&O=pcaxis&N=&L=0%202005 Instituto Nacional de Estadística] (in Spanish). Reference for populations of municipalities as of
January 1 ,2005 .
* [http://www.idescat.net/territ/BasicTerr?TC=3&V0=2&PDF=FALSE&V1=19&VOK=Confirmar IDESCAT: statistical information about Garrotxa] (in Catalan). Reference for list of municipalities, surface area.External links
* [http://www.infogarrotxa.com/web/index.php Official comarcal web site (in Catalan)]
* [http://www.municat.net:8000/omunicat/owa/mun_p01.dad_ens?via=6&cod=8101920002 Information about Garrotxa from the Generalitat de Catalunya (in Catalan)]
* [http://www.parcsdecatalunya.net/zvg/cpgarrotxa00.htm Official site of the Parc Natural de la Zona Volcànica de la Garrotxa (in Catalan)]
* [http://www.iberianature.com/spainblog/spain-tourism/catalonia/girona/la-garrotxa/ A guide La Garrotxa (in English)]
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