The Lava (french: Ruisseau de Lava) is a coastal stream in the west of the department of
Corse-du-Sud
Corse-du-Sud (; co, link=no, Corsica suttana , or ; en, Southern Corsica) is (as of 2019) an administrative department of France, consisting of the southern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collect ...
, Corsica, France.
Course
The Lava is long.
It flows through the commune of
Appietto
Appietto (; co, Appiettu) is a commune in the Corse-du-Sud department of France on the island of Corsica.
Geography
Appietto is located 17 km from Ajaccio, and stretches from the Gozzi mount to the coastline of the Gulf of Lava. This histo ...
.
It rises to the west of the Punta Pastinaca and flows west past the village of Appietto to Portu Provenzale.
When it reaches the sea the Lava turns to the north and flows behind the beach for a short distance before turning to the sea.
In winter, the Lava flows into the sea.
In summer it can cut through the beach during heavy rains.
The
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
is Csb : Warm-summer Mediterranean climate.
Natura 2000 site
The Golfe de Lava is classified as a
Natura 2000
Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively ...
site covering between the Punta Pelusella, a rocky hill, to the north and a low sandy terrace to the south beside the Lava stream.
The site is under high pressure from tourists with motorized vehicles in the summer.
Footbridges and boardwalks have been installed to let the public access the beach all year without disturbing the flow of the stream, the plants and wildlife.
Flora include toadflax (''Linaria flava''), cottonrose (''Filago tyrrhenica''), Brompton stock (''
Matthiola incana
''Matthiola incana'' is a species of flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae. Common names include Brompton stock, common stock, hoary stock, ten-week stock, and gilly-flower. The common name stock usually refers to this species, thou ...
'') and
tamarix
The genus ''Tamarix'' (tamarisk, salt cedar, taray) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Tam ...
.
Fauna include
European pond turtle
The European pond turtle (''Emys orbicularis''), also called commonly the European pond terrapin and the European pond tortoise, is a species of long-living freshwater turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is endemic to the Western Palearct ...
(''Emys orbicularis''),
osprey
The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...
(''Pandion haliaetus''),
European leaf-toed gecko
The European leaf-toed gecko (''Euleptes europaea'') is a species of lizard in the family Sphaerodactylidae. It is found in coastal regions of France, Italy and Tunisia and on Mediterranean islands. Its natural habitats are rocky areas and rocky ...
(''Euleptes europaea'') and
Hermann's tortoise
Hermann's tortoise (''Testudo hermanni'') is a species of tortoise. Two subspecies are known: the western Hermann's tortoise (''T. h. hermanni'' ) and the eastern Hermann's tortoise (''T. h. boettgeri'' ). Sometimes mentioned as a subspecies, ...
(''Testudo hermanni'').
Part of the site, the ''Dune du Golfe de Lava'', has been designated a ''
'' (ZNIEFF).
It covers and is bounded to the north by the mouth of the Lava.
It consists of a secondary coastal dune and the thicket of coastal
mastic
Mastic may refer to:
Adhesives and pastes
*Mastic (plant resin)
*Mastic asphalt, or asphalt, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid
*Mastic cold porcelain, or salt ceramic, is a traditional salt-based modeling clay.
*Mastic, high-grade cons ...
located behind the beach.
The dune holds sparse vegetation characteristic of this type of environment in the Mediterranean.
The three-horned stock (''
Matthiola tricuspidata
''Matthiola tricuspidata'', the three-horned stock, is a widespread species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae () or (the older) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants comm ...
'') and ''Linaria flava subsp. sardoa'' are protected in France.
Tributaries
The following streams (''ruisseaux'') are tributaries of the Lava (ordered by length) and sub-tributaries:
*Loriaggiu:
**San Gavinu:
***Grugnellu:
**Muchiesi:
**l'Albetronu:
***Cavucellu:
*Verginaccia:
*Monte Rossu:
*Forcalu:
*San Silvestro:
*Ficarella:
*Vita:
*la Scopa:
*Pedone:
*Petra Bianca:
*Sant'Andrea:
Notes
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lava
Rivers of Corse-du-Sud
Rivers of France
Coastal basins of the Mediterranean Sea in Corsica