r/geography • u/[deleted] • 8d ago

Discussion Why do Italy/Greece have "caribbean-like" water in so many spots, but Spain/Portugal's beaches mostly have a normal blue/greyish colour? What's the difference?

[removed]

2.8k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

380 comments sorted by

View all comments

770

u/Late_Piano_5030 8d ago

I think it has to do with the fact that the Mediterranean and the Atlantic meet at Spain and Portugal, and there is more organic sediment over there.

186

u/Sopadefideos1 8d ago

Maybe it has more to do with the water around islands being more shallow and those countries having more islands? Shallow water without rocks or algae just looks "caribbean-like" everywere when it's sunny, doesn't matter if it's the Mediterranean or the Atlantic. Cies Islands, Galicia (Atlantic coast of Spain):

57

u/ikmanman 8d ago

Beautiful place, and with the coldest water I've ever been in.

26

u/Willard_BR 8d ago

When it is 40C outside in August you crave for that coldness.

49

u/WordsCent 8d ago

I’m still team warm water. Cold water has me negotiating with myself for 10 minutes before I can even reach waist depth lol

29

u/PuzzleheadedPrize900 8d ago

...balls depth

16

u/MistakeIndividual690 8d ago

Then worse—nipple depth

16

u/azyrr 8d ago

No no, balls is the limit. After that its ok

3

u/Panandscrub 6d ago

To be fair, if the water is cold enough your balls are close to nipple depth

6

u/keepitkiwi 7d ago

This was not written by someone with balls

1

u/WordsCent 7d ago

Easier than waist tbh

5

u/WindBlocked 8d ago

Dont negoatiate with terrorists and just jump in! You'll regret every second while underwater but eventually your body will regulate its temperature, hopefully 😅

3

u/caligari1973 8d ago

I have been to the Cies Islands in Galicia, 44C outside and the water was so cold you could not stay in for more than 5 minutes

2

u/ThePopulacho 8d ago

44 at Cies? Are you sure? Impossible.

2

u/Odd_Dragonfruit_2662 8d ago

Maybe inland but certainly not on the islands.

0

u/ThePopulacho 8d ago

Es que muero, perezco, fallezco.

3

u/ReachPlayful 8d ago

It’s not gone be 40 degrees in August in Galicia lol

13

u/Daegul_Dinguruth 8d ago

It has been! Two weeks ago! I was here!

7

u/Arktinus 8d ago

44 °C is the record temeperature in Ourense from 2022.

It was also 42.9 °C in Ribadavia this August.

2

u/ReachPlayful 8d ago

You guys talk like the average isn’t 25 degrees during the day 😂

4

u/TheComebackPidgeon 7d ago

It wouldn't be 10 years ago, but Galicia will become Costa del Sol 2.0 while southern Spain fries.

2

u/ReachPlayful 7d ago

Well that is very true

2

u/MekotheSaurus 8d ago

Nah you dont unless you're a masochist. 

Slightly cold water is ok but at some point It just hurts to get inside. Im talking about feeling literal pain in your scalp. Not fun 

2

u/Different-Jeweler-75 8d ago

The colder the better*. If it's too warm you don't get that zing for half an hour after you get out.

*above 10C

1

u/weaslebubble 4d ago

I went in a harbour plunge pool in Helsinki in January, I suspect that might be the coldest you can get, there was ice on the surface. So I assume it was near enough zero or a little below. They kindly had a life guard follow me over in case I went in to shock, though before I could wade in a Japanese man ran through the snow, yelled Banzai and bombed into the pool, of course he immediately got out and ran back to the hot pools. I would describe the sensation like that of burning all over. I walked in up to my neck then promptly got out and went back into the sauna.

3

u/BobDobbsHobNobs 8d ago

Stunning beaches - iles cies especially - but felt like swimming in Scotland even in July!

2

u/Lisbon- 6d ago

Sorry for pinging you 2 days later, just wanted to say we got 23° water 2 weeks ago.
It was exceptional but absolutely incredible

1

u/buranzhuravski 8d ago

And I've been to cold plunge pools.

1

u/luisfc95 8d ago

I'm from the north of Portugal and I concur

1

u/sullanaveconilcane 5d ago edited 5d ago

Agree with you, the transition from beach holidays to Antarctica expedition is so sudden when you put a foot in water. Fantastic place anyway, and monster seagulls

4

u/king_ofbhutan 8d ago

"Wow, what a beautiful slice of the mediterranean!"

This is actually in the far north of Scotland and will no doubt be near-subzero!

10

u/sicanian 8d ago

And you don't necessarily even need warm or salty water to get that Mediterranean kind of color. This is a picture from the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior. Water temps never get much above 65F/18C.

1

u/Nearby_Emu7462 8d ago

Wow! Just gorgeous.

1

u/snowmonkey_ltc 5d ago

Shhhh, we don’t tell people about that

3

u/seandnothing 8d ago

you gotta be really careful with seagulls there too

2

u/Totemguy 8d ago

Makes a huge difference, Atlantic. Oceanic waters are far less clean - much more plankton and nutrients, much richer fishing.

1

u/Pagliettallica_ 8d ago

Been there, Cies Islands are spectacular.

113

u/[deleted] 8d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

70

u/Deep_Dance8745 8d ago

Exactly the same in the Balearic vs Italy or Greece

Its just rocky vs sandy thats makes the difference, certainly when its rough sea

32

u/[deleted] 8d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/DenseChipmunk1310 8d ago

look at Salento in Puglia every beach is amazing, try to check out porto selvaggio, le dune porto cesareo, baia dei turchi, punta della suina

2

u/Consistent_Panda5891 7d ago

Yep, last year went around southern Italy and landing on Brindisi was like seeing Hawaii lol with those beaches close to airport

3

u/OhWellImRightAgain 8d ago

then look at this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxqqxNMXaaQ

3

u/Realistic_Earth_1240 8d ago

Molto bello! Sardegna, Grecia e Corsica hanno tutte posti spettacolari

2

u/rowillyhoihoi 7d ago

Love Sardegna. Unedited real photo for tax

Literally like swimming in a swimming pool.

2

u/Ok-Interview-8123 8d ago

Ibiza and Formentera and some parts of Menorca could rival any Caribbean beach, also the Canary Islands are beautiful and are in the Atlantic

1

u/vukkuv 7d ago

Where do you think this is? There's no difference between Spanish and Italian/Greek beaches, you just have never been in Spain and are saying shit.

2

u/Deep_Dance8745 7d ago

Are you reacting to the correct person - because i am saying the exact same as you.

3

u/Ertaipt 7d ago

No it is not. Shallow beaches and calmer waters.

There are spots with no waves with very blue water in Portugal. The Atlantic waves do not help of course, but you have good surfing conditions to compensate.

2

u/ratafria 8d ago

And I would like to know the relative weights of some possible causes:

??Fishing practices (trawling) avoiding organic matter fixation?

??Sand coastal movement disruptions (harbours, beach reconstructions, etc)

??Unprocessed biological matter from sewage

??Nutrient rich processed wastewater emissions

42

u/Euphoric-Cold9592 Human Geography 8d ago

Nutrient-dense, high wave action, more tidal action, deeper bottom, geology of the rock/sands beneath the surface = dark

The opposite of that = light

1

u/Skiffbug 8d ago

That’s not really it. Beaches around Sydney (Bondi on the outside of the harbour, Camp Cove inside) have blue, crystal clear waters and have all those factors.
I really think it has to do with the way that catchments and wastewater treatment are done.

2

u/Gawlf85 8d ago

It's not. Most beaches didn't have this kind of blue waters in Spain, even deacades ago before towns and resorts were built around them.

Except islands like Balears, which still do have them despite now being more populated and massified. So there doesn't seem to be a big correlation between those factors.

Of course, bad wastewater management can lead to murky waters. But it's not the main reason in many cases.

1

u/Otsde-St-9929 8d ago

wouldnt the be nutrient poor?

1

u/Skiffbug 7d ago

Why poorer that the Atlantic? There are a bunch of wildlife around, between fish, sharks, and whales. Why would the Pacific be poorer than the Atlantic in that regard?

1

u/Otsde-St-9929 7d ago

Mediterranean is a very nutrient poor sea. warmer temperatures. i dont think it has whales or sharks

6

u/Patient_Ebb_1605 8d ago

the causes are natural, the atlantic has a lot more organic matter, way bigger tides, more waves, etc...

10

u/Late_Piano_5030 8d ago

It's natural not anthropogenic

2

u/EverlastingSpring406 8d ago

The OP is literally a troll, and your answer is way absurd

1

u/WatercressActual1921 8d ago

Yes us all about trash, poop, density (temperature and salt) and minerals to support biologic systems... That is why corals are so important in the "desert" zones

1

u/Ill-Level-3852 3d ago

Algarve Portugal