Costa del Sol Towns
In 2008 it had 70,473
inhabitants, making it the fourth largest municipality in the province in terms
of population. It focuses on three major urban areas: Mijas Pueblo, located on
the 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 the
continuum of the cities of Fuengirola and La Cala. The surface of the
municipality is 148 km² and extends from the coastal mountains of theMediterranean Sea to Penibetica.
The municipality has
a growing urban development on the coast and on the slopes of the mountains, as
they 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 character
of the typical Andalucian white village. It is the administrative center of
town, where the city and most of its historic buildings remain.
Las Lagunas is the modern part of town, where the industrial and commercial
areas are situated. This nucleus is linked to Fuengirola, separated only by the
A-7, forming a single conurbation. La Cala is the core coastal center of the 12
km of coastline with which the surrounding town and large housing extends along
the entire coast, including Calahonda, El Faro and El Chaparral.
Finally, there are a
number of settlements scattered in more or less rurally characterised areas,
such as Osunillas, Valtocado, and The Entrerríos Alquería, in addition to
several isolated housing estates often built around a golf course.
Mijas is situated on
theCosta del Sol, 30 km southwest of the
provincial capital. The Association of Municipalities of the same name and the
judicial district of Fuengirola is also integrated in the region of the Costa
del Sol.
Inhabited since
ancient times, the smallvillage
ofMijas was devoted
mainly to agriculture and fisheries until the tourist boom in the 1950’. Since
then, the tourism and construction sectors have become the engines of the local
economy, firing at the same time the population and per capita income, albeit
at a high environmental cost. It is now a multicultural municipality with a
high percentage of foreign residents situated mainly inAndalusia.
The town ofMijas is one of the most expansive in theprovince ofMalaga, at 148 km². The municipality
extends from the mountains of Mijas Alpujata to the sea through a landscape of
undulating hills and ridges. Both mountains are in alignment with the coastal
Cordillera Penibetica and are approximately 1000 meters above sea level, reaching
1150 meters at Pico de Mijas, a typical street in Mijas Pueblo.
Most of the landscape is mountainous. Across the river and past Ojen, which
joins theFuengirola
River, forming a valley
in the central area of town called Entrerríos, are the agícolas fields and
golf. The river flows around Fuengirola on the edge of Mijas and the coastline
alternates between small sandy coves and rocky cliffs with some low-rises, the
most notorious being Punta Calaburras.
The town is bathed by
the Mediterranean to the south. To the east,
it is bordered by the towns of Fuengirola and Benalmadena. To the north, it is
bordered by those of Alhaurín de la Torre, Alhaurín el Grande and Coin, and to
the west, with Marbella
and Ojen. More specifically, to the northwest is North Coín
and Ojen: Coin and Alhaurin el Grande. To the northeast is Benalmádena and
Alhaurín 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 average
of 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 and
January. 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 meters
altitude, while precipitation is increasing to almost 800 ml.
