Medes Islands

Administratively, the Medes Archipelago belongs to the Baix Empordà comarca, Catalonia, Spain.

The islands are protected as a nature reserve; scubadiving is popular but is thus regulated there and requires permission.

[2] In the 15th century the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem built a fortress on Meda Gran.

He rebuilt, garrisoned and fortified the fort, and symbolically renamed the islands the Isles of the Restoration.

Despite the ravages caused by industrial pollution and mass-tourism in the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula, there is still a significant amount of marine biodiversity in the waters off the islands, such as large submarine meadows of Posidonia oceanica, and underwater caves where groupers breed.

Topographic map of Medes Islands
Topographic map of Medes Islands
Carall Bernat, Tascons Grossos and Meda Petita.
The Tascons Grossos, Tascons Petits and Carall Bernat.
The Medes Islands seen from the Montgrí Massif . This image has annotations with names and heights of the islands, click here .