Mijas

In 2008 it had 70,473inhabitants, making it the fourth largest municipality in the province in termsof population.

It focuses on three major urban areas: Mijas Pueblo, located onthe slopes of the Sierra de Mijas, is the historic center of town; Las Lagunas,located in the area called Mijas Costa, a coastal town, is part of thecontinuum of the cities of Fuengirola and La Cala. The surface of themunicipality is 148 km² and extends from the coastal mountains of theMediterranean Sea to Penibetica.

The municipality hasa growing urban development on the coast and on the slopes of the mountains, asthey are softened in their fall towards the sea. The heart of Mijas Pueblo,located at an altitude of 428 meters above sea level, preserves the characterof the typical Andalucian white village.

It is the administrative center oftown, where the city and most of its historic buildings remain. Las Lagunas is the modern part of town, where the industrial and commercialareas are situated.

This nucleus is linked to Fuengirola, separated only by theA-7, forming a single conurbation. La Cala is the core coastal center of the 12km of coastline with which the surrounding town and large housing extends alongthe entire coast, including Calahonda, El Faro and El Chaparral.

Finally, there are anumber of settlements scattered in more or less rurally characterised areas,such as Osunillas, Valtocado, and The Entrerríos Alquería, in addition toseveral isolated housing estates often built around a golf course.

Mijas is situated ontheCosta del Sol, 30 km southwest of theprovincial capital. The Association of Municipalities of the same name and thejudicial district of Fuengirola is also integrated in the region of the Costadel Sol.

Inhabited sinceancient times, the smallvillage ofMijas was devotedmainly to agriculture and fisheries until the tourist boom in the 1950’. Sincethen, the tourism and construction sectors have become the engines of the localeconomy, firing at the same time the population and per capita income, albeitat a high environmental cost. It is now a multicultural municipality with ahigh percentage of foreign residents situated mainly inAndalusia.

The town of Mijas is one of the most expansive in theprovince of Malaga, at 148 km². The municipalityextends from the mountains of Mijas Alpujata to the sea through a landscape ofundulating hills and ridges.

Both mountains are in alignment with the coastal Cordillera Penibetica and are approximately 1000 meters above sea level, reaching1150 meters at Pico de Mijas, a typical street in Mijas Pueblo.

Most of the landscape is mountainous. Across the river and past Ojen, whichjoins theFuengirola River, forming a valleyin the central area of town called Entrerríos, are the agícolas fields andgolf. The river flows around Fuengirola on the edge of Mijas and the coastlinealternates between small sandy coves and rocky cliffs with some low-rises, themost notorious being Punta Calaburras.

The town is bathed bythe Mediterranean to the south. To the east,it is bordered by the towns of Fuengirola and Benalmadena. To the north, it isbordered by those of Alhaurín de la Torre, Alhaurín el Grande and Coin, and tothe west, with Marbellaand Ojen.

More specifically, to the northwest is North Coínand Ojen: Coin and Alhaurin el Grande. To the northeast is Benalmádena andAlhaurín de la Torre, and to the southwest, southeast, the Mediterranean Sea.

The climate of Mijas,due to its proximity to the sea, shows temperatures of mild conditions on an averageof 18 ° C, without excessive heat in summer and little frost in winter. The rainfall is below 600 ml per year and occurs mainly between November andJanuary. The town is enjoying 2920 hours of sunshine per year.

As are the mountains,the climate is changing gradually. Temperatures can occasionally fall to 10 °C. On the mountain tops there may be some frost in winter, above 600 metersaltitude, while precipitation is increasing to almost 800 ml.