Laguna del Gosque

Laguna del Gosque Nature Reserve is part of a series of lakes that lie between the provinces of Seville and Malaga, the most important being Fuente de Piedra Lake and Gosque Lake, in the municipality of Martín de la Jara. It is in an area of low altitude and rolling landscapes, with the exception of Sierra de los Caballos mountains, very close to the lake.

Endorheic in nature, the lake is fed by rainwater, surface run-off, a small seasonal spring north of the lake, and another small spring, also seasonal, known as Fuente de las Piedras. Its waters are very salty.

In botanical matters, the area's historical focus on farming has greatly decreased the indigenous vegetation, now limited to the edges of the lake. While the dominant species in this belt are tamarisks, reeds and reed mace, their habitat is surrounded by crops: olive groves, vineyards and dry and irrigated herbaceous crops. Although in some stony uncultivated pieces of lands there are traces of natural vegetation associated with wild olives and Kermes oaks - rosemary, grey-leaved cistus, gorse, etc.

The lake is an ideal refuge for many aquatic species that use this area as a breeding ground, a rest area along their migratory routes, or as a complementary habitat for certain nesting species from Doñana National Park It also provides an alternative source of food for species which, most of the year, find refuge at Laguna de Fuente de Piedra Lake, where they go when conditions here are unfavourable. It is worth highlighting the presence of white-headed ducks, pink flamingos and, occasionally, red-knobbed coots and ferruginous ducks. There is also plenty of waterfowl, such as northern pintails, common shelducks and shovellers, as well as sandpipers, Kentish plovers and whiskered terns.

Laguna del Gosque is a place of pilgrimage for the locals. In summer the public facilities attract many visitors, who come here to swim.