The Besòs (; es, Besós, link=no) is a
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...
flowing through
Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
, formed by the confluence of the
Mogent and
Congost rivers. It ends in the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
. Its full watershed includes the following
cities
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
:
Aiguafreda,
La Garriga
La Garriga is a municipality in the province of Barcelona and autonomous community of Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' national ...
,
Sant Fost de Campsantelles,
Canovelles,
Granollers
Granollers () is a city in central Catalonia, about 30 kilometres north-east of Barcelona. It is the capital and most densely populated city in the comarca of Vallès Oriental.
Granollers is now a bustling business centre, having grown from a ...
,
Montmeló
Montmeló () is a municipality in the comarca of Vallès Oriental, within the Barcelona metropolitan area, in Catalonia, Spain. It contains the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which is the home of the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix and the Moto ...
,
Mollet del Vallès
Mollet del Vallès () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Vallès Oriental in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the valley of the Besòs river, and is an important communications hub from Barcelona towards the north: the AP-7 Motorwa ...
,
Montcada i Reixac
Montcada i Reixac (In Spanish Moncada y Reixach ) (), often referred to as simply Montcada, is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Vallès Occidental in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated at the confluence of the Ripoll river and the Besós ...
,
Santa Coloma de Gramenet,
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
and
Sant Adrià de Besòs. Due to its Mediterranean climate, the river can have extreme discrepancies in flow depending on the weather.
Tributaries
The Besòs river has five main tributaries:
*
Congost River
{{Infobox river
, name = Congost River
, name_native =
, name_native_lang =
, name_other =
, name_etymology =
, image = El riu Congost a l'alçada de la Garriga.jpg
, image_size = ...
*
Ripoll River
The Ripoll is a river in the ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental, Catalonia, Spain. It covers the vast majority of the shire, crossing it from north to south, and flows into the river Besòs, near Barcelona.
Geography
The source of the river is ...
* Mogent River
* Tenes River
* de Caldes stream
History
A non-navigable river, the Besòs was nonetheless a link between the Catalan coast and the interior. In the 10th century, the
Rec Comtal
The Rec Comtal was an irrigation canal near Barcelona, Catalonia, which took water from the Besòs river to the walls of the city. Construction was begun by Miro, Count of Barcelona in the 10th century, but it may date back to Roman times. It su ...
was built to use the river for irrigation.
As it passes through a highly industrialized area (Barcelona metropolitan region), it had the dubious honor of being the most contaminated river in Europe during the 1970s and 1980s. Since the mid-1990s, however, the river has been in the process of recovery.
The ''
Fòrum Universal de les Cultures'', which took place in Barcelona during 2004, allowed the creation of a recreation area called ''Parc Fluvial del Besòs'' between the cities of
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
,
Santa Coloma de Gramenet and
Sant Adrià del Besòs.
Gallery
Image:Rbesos01.jpg, View from Sant Adrià de Besòs to the mountains
Image:Rbesos02.jpg, View from Sant Adrià de Besòs to the sea
Image:Rbesos03.jpg, The river mouth
See also
*
List of rivers of Spain
This is an incomplete list of rivers that are at least partially in Spain. The rivers flowing into the sea are sorted along the coast. Rivers flowing into other rivers are listed by the rivers they flow into. Rivers in the mainland Iberian Peninsu ...
*
Llobregat
The Llobregat () is the second longest river in Catalonia, Spain, after the Ter. It flows into the Mediterranean south of the city of Barcelona. Its name could have originated in an ancient Latin word meaning 'dark', 'sorrowful' or 'muddy', or ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Besos (river)
Rivers of Spain
Rivers of Catalonia