Editing Province of Alicante (section)

==Territory, population and resources==
[[Image:Main towns in the province of Alicante.png|thumb|300px|left|Main towns in Alicante province]]
According to the 2018 population data, Alicante ranks as the fourth most populous province in Spain (after [[Community of Madrid|Madrid]], [[Barcelona (province)|Barcelona]] and [[Valencia (province)|Valencia]]), with 1,838,819 inhabitants.<ref name=diario2009/> Cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants in the province are [[Alicante]] (334,757 inhabitants), [[Elche]] (230,112), [[Torrevieja]] (101,792), [[Orihuela]] (86,164), [[Benidorm]] (71,034), [[Alcoy, Spain|Alcoy]] (61,552), [[Elda]] (55,168), and [[San Vicente del Raspeig]] (53,126).<ref name=INE>[http://www.ine.es/nomen2/index.do Relación de unidades poblacionales] Instituto Nacional de Estadística</ref>

Alicante contains the largest ratio of foreigner population out of all Spanish provinces. A total of 446,368 foreigners are registered, representing a 23.6 percent of the total population.<ref name=diario2009>[http://www.diarioinformacion.com/secciones/noticia.jsp?pRef=2009051600_12_886930__Alicante-cada-cuatro-vecinos-extranjero-municipios-alicantinos Uno de cada cuatro vecinos es extranjero en el 40% de los municipios alicantinos] May 16, 2009. Diario Información, provincial newspaper {{in lang|es}}</ref>  Out of 141 municipalities that make up the province, foreign population is above 25% in 54 municipalities, and above 50% in 19 of them. The latter include [[San Fulgencio]] (80%), [[Rojales]] (74%), [[Benitachell/El Poble Nou de Benitatxell|Benitatxell]] (69.8%), [[Algorfa]] (69.7%), [[Llíber]] (67%), [[Teulada, Spain|Teulada]] (65.5%), [[Daya Vieja]] (64.4%); [[San Miguel de Salinas]] (64.3%), [[Calp]] (62.8%), [[Els Poblets]] (61.6%), [[Alcalalí]] (60.8%), [[Benijófar]] (58.5%), [[L'Alfàs del Pi]] (56.6%), [[Orba, Alicante|Orba]] (55%), [[Xàbia]] (54%), [[Torrevieja]] (53.5%), [[Murla]] (52%), Fondó (51.7%), and [[Benidoleig]] (50%).<ref name=diario2009/>

Out of the 50 provinces of Spain, Alicante is the only one with three [[metropolitan area]]s: Alicante–Elche, Elda–Petrer and Benidorm, even though only one of them (Alicante–Elche) is ranked within the Spanish top ten metropolitan areas.<ref name=diario2007>[http://www.diarioinformacion.com/secciones/noticia.jsp?pRef=1978_12_610638__Alicante-boom-demografico-lleva-provincia-unica-tres-areas-metropolitanas El boom demográfico lleva a la provincia a ser la única con tres áreas metropolitanas] March 10, 2007. Diario Información, provincial newspaper {{in lang|es}}</ref> It has an area of {{cvt|5,816.5|km2}} and a population density of 313.8 inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>.

===Geography and climate===
[[Image:Mapa físico de la provincia de Alicante (España).png|thumb|300px|right|Physical map of Alicante province]]

The province is mountainous, especially in the north and midwest, whereas it is mostly flat to the south, in the [[Vega Baja del Segura]] area. The most elevated points in the province are [[Aitana (mountain)|Aitana]] (1,558 m), [[Puig Campana]] (1,410 m), [[Montcabrer]] (1,389 m), [[Carrascar de la Font Roja]] (1,354 m), [[Maigmó Massif|Maigmó]] (1,296 m), [[Serra de Crevillent]] (835 m) and [[Montgó Massif|El Montgó]] (753 m). All of these peaks are a part of the [[Baetic Cordillera|Subbaetic Range]].

The coast extends from the [[Cap de la Nau]] in the north and almost reaches the [[Mar Menor]] (Minor Sea) to the south. With regard to water sources, due to the dry rain regime there are no major rivers, but mostly ''ramblas'' (dry rivers), which fill in with water when torrential rains occur.

The only remarkable streams are that of the [[Vinalopó]], [[Serpis]] and the [[river Segura]]. Other minor seasonal creeks (some completely dried out in summer) are [[Girona (river)|Girona]], [[Algar (river)|Algar]], [[Amadorio (river)|Amadorio]] and [[Ebo (river)|Ebo]].

There are saline wetlands and marshlands along the coast such as ''[[Natural Park of El Fondo|El Fondo]]'' and former wetlands that are now [[salt evaporation pond]]s in Santa Pola and Torrevieja. All of them are key [[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar Site]]s which make the Alicante province of high relevance for both migratory and resident seabirds and waterbirds.

Important [[Dunes#Coastal dunes|coastal dunes]] are present in the [[Guardamar del Segura|Guardamar]] area which were planted with thousands of pine trees during the 19th century in order to protect the ville from the dunes advancing, which has created now an area of remarkable ecologic value.

The climate is strikingly diverse for its small area. There are three major climates:

* The [[semi-arid climate]] predominates in most of the province, roughly going along the coastal plain from [[La Vila Joiosa]] through the southernmost border (which includes the cities of Alicante, Elche, Orihuela and Torrevieja). Summers are very long, remarkably hot and dry, while winters are cool and mild. Its most prominent feature is a very scarce precipitation that typically amounts to below 300mm per year and take place mainly during the spring and autumn. The main reason for this lack of rain is the marked [[rain shadow]] effect caused by hills to the west of the Alicante province (and, to a lesser degree, those in the northern part, which in turn enhance the inverse [[Orographic lift]] effect around Cap de la Nau).

:The predominant vegetation native to this part of the province is [[Matorral]] [[Scrubland]]s such as [[thyme]], [[esparto]], [[rosemary]], [[juniper]] and the like.

*Proper [[Mediterranean climate]] is present in the northeastern areas around [[Cap de la Nau]], mostly to its North, in diminishing grades until disappearing slightly north of Benidorm. It roughly follows the coastal plain from the northern border of the province through the Benidorm area. The northern slopes of the mountains in the [[Marina Alta]] comarca have a remarkably wetter [[microclimate]] with an average up to 900mm of rain due to the orographic lift. The precipitation in this area is an average of four times larger than in the [[Semi-arid climate|semiarid]] South, with this big precipitation gap occurring in a matter of just {{cvt|100|km}}.

:The vegetation on this part of the province is an enriched version of the Matorral shrubland that contains Mediterranean pine woods.

*The Alicante province has a mostly dry Mediterranean to [[Continental Mediterranean climate]]. These are the innermost parts of the province (e.g. Villena) and some closer to the sea at a higher elevation (e.g. Alcoy). Winters are cool to cold and a few days of snow are not unusual; summers are mild to hot and rains average a 500mm, slightly more evenly distributed through the year compared to the other areas. The innermost part of this domain is drier, while its mountainous part gets slightly higher precipitation figures which allows [[Kermes Oak]] woods to thrive, such as the ones in ''La Carrasqueta'' or in the [[Serra de Mariola|Mariola range]], both near Alcoy.