Garrotxa

Garrotxa
Comarca

Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Catalonia
Province	Girona
Capital	Olot
Municipalities	List Argelaguer, Besalú, Beuda, Castellfollit de la Roca, Maià de Montcal, Mieres, Montagut i Oix, Olot, Les Planes d'Hostoles, Les Preses, Riudaura, Sales de Llierca, Sant Aniol de Finestres, Sant Feliu de Pallerols, Sant Ferriol, Sant Jaume de Llierca, Sant Joan les Fonts, Santa Pau, Tortellà, La Vall d'en Bas, La Vall de Bianya
Area
• Total	734.5 km² (283.6 sq mi)
Population (2014)
• Total	56,036
• Density	76/km² (200/sq mi)
Demonym(s)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Largest municipality	Olot

Garrotxa is a comarca (county) in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Its population in 2001 was 47,747, more than half of them in the capital city of Olot. It is roughly equivalent to the historical comarca of Besalú.

Garrotxa borders the comarques of Ripollès, Osona, Selva, Gironès, Pla de l'Estany, Alt Empordà, and Vallespir. It includes the upper basin of the River Fluvià and the headwaters of the rivers Muga, Amer and Llémena.

From both the human point of view and that of physical geography, the comarca has a clear division into two subcomarques. Extending north from the valley of the Fluvià, is Alta Garrotxa (Upper Garrotxa), while the southern part is sometimes called the comarca of Olot, after the capital city.

The Fluvià flows toward the Mediterranean, and has a relatively small flow of water (1.07 m³/s at Olot).

The high humidity of Garrotxa contrasts with that of the neighboring comarques. Annual rainfall is over 1000 mm (about 40 inches). It is said that "Si no plou a Olot, no plou enlloc" ("if it's not raining in Olot, it is not raining anywhere."). Winter temperatures hover around freezing; in August, temperatures average 27.7 °C (about 80 °F). Thermal inversions are relatively common; Alta Garrotxa and Puigsacalm, particularly, have more of a mountain climate, with snowfall figuring more prominently.

Vegetation varies with the climate. Alta Garrotxa and the east part of the comarca have typically Mediterranean climate and vegetation; the rest has a sub-Mediterranean climate, tending toward an Atlantic climate in the most humid areas.

In the western part of the comarca, the land around Olot and Santa Pau contains some 40 well-preserved volcanic cones at Croscat, important flows of basaltic lava, and the volcano of Santa Margarida. This zone is protected within the 120.07 km² Parc Natural de la Zona Volcànica de la Garrotxa.

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Wikipedia