The plenary session of the Consell de la Generalitat Valenciana has declared the Falla del Moraig as a Natural Monument. The decree has been approved for the geological element of Poble Nou de Benitatxell establishing a special protection regime for the space.
The natural monument protection regime is aimed at protecting, valuing and restoring, where appropriate, this geological element, as well as integrating the conservation objectives of its scientific, cultural and landscape values with the socioeconomic interest of the space.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, Climate Emergency and Ecological Transition includes, among the measures contemplated to reinforce its protection, the approval of a master plan for use and management (PRUG) of the Moraig Falla Natural Monument.
In addition, it proposes creating a Participation Council for the natural monument, made up of eight members, as a collegiate collegiate body that collaborates and advises the Ministry, which is constituted as a consultative, advisory and representative body, and is also a way to channel initiatives addressed to its management.
Geological Interest Place
The area known as 'La Falla del Moraig' constitutes a singular geomorphological element, cataloged as a Place of Geological Interest by the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain. Particularly noteworthy is an overhanging rock wall that protrudes from the ground where the fault plane and the vertical striations caused by the friction of the calcareous materials during their formation can be clearly observed.
This fault, also called Riu Blanc, is a fracture of the normal earth's crust (with vertical displacement) that occurred 11 million years ago, during the Upper Miocene. This fault sank the limestone materials and formed the Cueva dels Arcs.
Over time, this fault and cave has been subjected to both the action of the waves and the dissolution of seawater on the limestone, which has eroded the material, creating other caves such as the Cueva del Moraig, with its own elements. of karstic systems such as speleotherms (mineral deposits in cavities). Within the latter you can find the main freshwater discharge from the Benissa aquifer, the Riu Blanc, which gives rise to an intricate system of galleries.
It is the second enclave with this legal category, after the declaration of the K/T Capa Negra de Agost geological boundary as a Natural Monument.
