Guadalquivir River, Cordoba, Andalusia, Spain, Europe
The Guadalquivir is the fifth longest river in the Iberian peninsula and the second longest river with its entire length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is 657 kilometers long and drains an area of about 58,000 square kilometers. It begins at Cañada de las Fuentes (village of Quesada) in the Cazorla mountain range (Jaén), passes through Córdoba and Seville and ends at the fishing village of Bonanza, in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, flowing into the Gulf of Cádiz, in the Atlantic Ocean. The marshy lowlands at the river's end are known as Las Marismas. It borders Doñana National Park reserve. The Guadalquivir river is the only great navigable river in Spain. Currently it is navigable to Seville, but in Roman times it was navigable to Córdoba. The ancient city of Tartessos was said to have been located at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, although its site has not yet been found. The Phoenicians established the first anchorage grounds and dealt in precious metals. The Romans settled in Hispalis (Seville), in the 2nd century BC, making it into an important river port. By the 1st century BC Hipalis was a walled city with shipyards building longboats to carry wheat. In the 1st century AD the Hispalis was home to entire naval squadrons. Ships sailed to Rome with various products: minerals, salt, fish, etc. During Arab rule between 712 to 1248, the Moors left a stone dock and the Torre del Oro (Tower of Gold), to reinforce the port defences. In the 13th century, Ferdinand III expanded the shipyards and from Seville's busy port, grain, oil, wine, wool, leather, cheese, honey, wax, nuts and dried fruit, salted fish, metal, silk, linen and dye were exported throughout Europe. After the discovery of the Americas, Seville became the economic centre of the Spanish Empire as its port monopolised the trans-oceanic trade and the Casa de Contratación (House of Trade) wielded its power. As navigation of the Guadalquivir River became increasingly difficult Seville's trade monopoly was transferred to Cádiz.The construction of the artificial canal known as the Corta de Merlina in 1794 marked the beginning of the modernisation of the port of Seville. In late November 2010 the new Seville lock began to function as a regulator of the tides to finish five years of work (2005-2010). The Guadalquivir River Basin occupies an area of 63,085 km2 and has a long history of severe flooding. During the winter of 2010 heavy rainfall caused severe flooding in rural and agricultural areas in the provinces of Seville, Cordoba and Jaen in the Andalusia region. The accumulated rainfall in the month of February was above 250 liters per m2, double the precipitation for Spain for that month. In March 2010 several tributaries of the Guadalquivir flooded, causing over 1,500 people to flee their homes as a result of increased flow of the Guadalquivir River, which on 6 March 2010 reached a volume of 2000 m3/s in Cordoba and 2700 m3/s in Seville. This was below that recorded in Seville in the flood of 1963 when a volume of 6000 m3/s. was reached. During August 2010 when flooding occurred in Jaen, Cordoba and Seville three people died in Cordoba as a result. A reconstructed waterwheel is located at Cordoba on the Guadalquivir River. The Molino de la Albolafia waterwheel originally built by the Romans provided water for the nearby Alcazar gardens as well as being used to mill flour. The Alcazar was the castle and royal residence of Cordoba, inhabited by the caliphs in Islamic times, and later by the Spanish royalty. The Doñana disaster, also known as the Aznalcollar Disaster or Guadiamar Disaster was an industrial accident in Andalusia. In April 1998 a holding dam burst at the Los Frailes mine, near Aznalcóllar, Seville Province, releasing 4–5 million cubic metres of mine tailings. The Doñana National Park was also impacted by this event. Of the numerous bridges spanning the Guadalquivir, one of the oldest is the Roman Bridge in Cordoba. Significant bridges at Seville include the Puente del Alamillo (1992), Puente de Isabel II or Puente de Triana (1852), and Puente del V Centenario (1972). The El Tranco de Beas Dam at the head of the river was built between 1929 and 1944 as a hydroelectricity project of the Franco regime. Doña Aldonza Dam is located in the Guadalquivir riverbed, in the Andalusian municipalities of Ubeda, Peal de Becerro and Torreperogil in the province of Jaen. The Port of Seville is the primary port on the Guadalquivir River. The Port Authority of Seville is responsible for developing, managing, operating, and marketing the Port of Seville. The entrance to the Port of Seville is protected by a lock that regulates the water level, making the port free of tidal influences. The Port of Seville contains over 2.7 thousand meters of berths for public use and 1.1 thousand meters of private berths.