San Javier

San Javier is a municipality in the Spanish province and region of Murcia with an area of ​​75 km². San Javier has 31,782 inhabitants (January 1, 2016). The origins of San Javier date back to the seventeenth century, when one was built around a chapel dedicated to St. Francis Xavier, at the crossroads where several coastal roads converged.

The boundaries of the municipality are defined by the following municipalities: Pilar de la Horadada, Murcia, San Pedro del Pinatar, Torre-Pacheco, Cartagena and Los Alcázares. First, San Javier was part of the city of Murcia, until it became an independent municipality on September 16, 1836. On October 13, 1983, it had to give up part of its territory together with Torre-Pacheco to form the municipality of Los Alcázares.

In addition to the AP-7 motorway, Autopista del Mediterráneo and the old national road N323, the Aeropuerto de Murcia-San Javier airport can be used to reach the municipality. This airport has both a civil and military mission.

NATURE RESERVES
There are numerous protected natural parks within the municipality of San Javier:

Mar Menor. Designated by the UN as a Specially Protected Area of ​​the Mediterranean. In addition, the area has been recognized as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. Three of the five islands of the Mar Menor, namely Isla Perdiguera, Isla Mayor or also called Isla del Barón and Isla Grosa
Protected area of ​​the beach called La Hita. This area is located south of the municipality on the shores of Mar Menor. The protected area is shared with the municipality of Los Alcázares. It is a flooded area, mainly consisting of reeds (Phragmites australis) in which nesting birds such as the black-winged stilt, the sternula, the reed warbler or the gray heron can be spotted. It is protected in the so-called open spaces and islands of the Mar Menor.