The Gulf of Valencia is a gulf

Headlands and bays

Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment.- Geology and geography :Headlands and bays are often found on the same coastline. A bay is surrounded by land on three sides, whereas a headland is surrounded by water on three sides. Headlands are characterized by high,...

 or inlet

Inlet

An inlet is a narrow body of water between islands or leading inland from a larger body of water, often leading to an enclosed body of water, such as a sound, bay, lagoon or marsh. In sea coasts an inlet usually refers to the actual connection between a bay and the ocean and is often called an...

 of the western Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

, on the eastern coast of Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. Its limits are the Cap de la Nau

Cap de la Nau

The Cap de la Nau or Cabo de la Nao , literally “Cape of the Ship,” is a headland located central-eastern coastal Spain on the Gulf of Valencia, Mediterranean Sea...

 headland in the south, while the northern limit is diffuse: for some it is the Cape of Vinaròs

Vinaròs

Vinaròs is a town and municipality in eastern Spain, in the province of Castelló and part of the autonomous Valencian Community. The town is on the Gulf of Valencia coast of the western Mediterranean Sea, Vinaròs is a fishing harbour and tourist destination....

; and for others it is the Ebre Delta

Ebre Delta

The Ebre Delta is the delta region of the Ebro River , in the Province of Tarragona, Catalonia, in northeastern Spain. It is on the Mediterranean Sea, and is the northernmost point, by some designations, of the Gulf of Valencia...

. When the Cape of Vinaròs is used the Gulf of Valencia's coast is entirely within the Valencian Community

Valencian Community

The Valencian Community is an autonomous community of Spain located in central and south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Valencia...

. When the Ebre Delta is used its northern coast is within southern Catalonia

Catalonia

Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...

. .

The tiny Columbretes islets

Columbretes Islands

The Columbretes Islands are a group of small uninhabited islets of volcanic origin, in the Mediterranean Sea, 49 km off Oropesa del Mar. Administratively they belong to Castelló de la Plana municipality, Valencian Community, Spain....

 are located in the gulf. The Gulf of Valencia is bisected by the Prime Meridian

Prime Meridian

The Prime Meridian is the meridian at which the longitude is defined to be 0°.The Prime Meridian and its opposite the 180th meridian , which the International Date Line generally follows, form a great circle that divides the Earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.An international...

Geography

The coast along the Gulf of Valencia is typically a sandy plain wth beaches. The distinctive shoreline features in this region are the coastal marshes, with the Albufera

Albufera

The Albufera is a saltwater lagoon and estuary on the Gulf of Valencia coast of the Valencian Community in eastern Spain. It is the main porton of the Parc Natural de l'Albufera , with a surface area of...

 estuary

Estuary

An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....

 an example. It is a Ramsar Convention

Ramsar Convention

The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...

 listed wetlands of importance.

The Costa del Sol gulf area is among the finest examples of the Mediterranean climate

Mediterranean climate

A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...

 in Spain. The coast along the Gulf of Valencia is densely populated, with one of the highest population densities in Spain.

Uses

Adjacent are low and fertile lands, with rice and especially citrus

Citrus

Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...

 trees producing oranges and lemons, as the dominant crops.

ln May 2011 the energy firm Cairn Energy

Cairn Energy

Cairn Energy plc is a global oil and gas exploration company headquartered in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. It has operational interests in Albania, Bangladesh, Greenland, India, Nepal and Tunisia and produces around 33,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day...

 obtained licenses to explore for oil and operate drilling rig

Drilling rig

A drilling rig is a machine which creates holes or shafts in the ground. Drilling rigs can be massive structures housing equipment used to drill water wells, oil wells, or natural gas extraction wells, or they can be small enough to be moved manually by one person...

s and oil platform

Oil platform

An oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform or, somewhat incorrectly, oil rig, is a lаrge structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, and to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing...

s in 4000 square kilometres (988,420.7 acre) in the Gulf of Valencia from the Spanish government. There are environmental concerns about offshore drilling

Offshore drilling

Offshore drilling refers to a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled through the seabed. It is typically carried out in order to explore for and subsequently produce hydrocarbons which lie in rock formations beneath the seabed...

here.