The Guadalete River is located almost entirely in the
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
Province of Cádiz
Cádiz is a Provinces of Spain, province of southern Spain, in the southwestern part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is the southernmost part of mainland Spain, as well as the southernmost part of conti ...
, rising in the
Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park
The Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park ( es, Parque natural de la Sierra de Grazalema) is a natural park (Spain), natural park in the northeastern part of the province of Cádiz in southern Spain. The park encompasses, within its , a complex of mount ...
at an elevation of about , and running for into the
Bay of Cádiz
The Bay of Cádiz is a body of water in the province of Cádiz, Spain, adjacent to the southwestern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.
The Bay of Cádiz adjoins the Gulf of Cádiz, a larger body of water which is in the same area but further offsho ...
at
El Puerto de Santa Maria
EL, El or el may refer to:
Religion
* El (deity), a Semitic word for "God"
People
* EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer
* El DeBarge, music artist
* El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...
, north of the city of
Cádiz
Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia.
Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...
. The river's name comes from the Arabic phrase ''وادي لكة'' (Wadi lakath) meaning "River of Forgetfulness".
Course
From its source in the Sierra de Grazalema, the Guadalete passes:
*
Grazalema
Grazalema is a village located in the northeastern part of the province of Cádiz, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Situated in the foothills of the Sierra del Pinar mountain range (Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park), Grazalema ...
*The Reservoir (Embalse) of Zahara
*Puerto Solano
*Briefly enters
Seville province
The Province of Seville ( es, Sevilla) is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by the provinces of Málaga, Cádiz in the south, Huelva in the west, Badajoz in the north and C ...
and reenters
Cádiz province
Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia.
Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, w ...
*
Villamartín
Villamartín is a city located in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to the 2005 census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is u ...
*The Reservoir (Embalse) of Bornos
*The Reservoir (Embalse) of Arcos
*
Arcos de la Frontera
Arcos de la Frontera () is a town and municipality in the Sierra de Cádiz comarca, province of Cádiz, in Andalusia, Spain. It is located on the northern, western and southern banks of the Guadalete river, which flows around three sides of the c ...
*La Barca de la Florida
*Lomopardo and El Portal (near
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , the ...
)
It then flows into the
Bay of Cádiz
The Bay of Cádiz is a body of water in the province of Cádiz, Spain, adjacent to the southwestern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.
The Bay of Cádiz adjoins the Gulf of Cádiz, a larger body of water which is in the same area but further offsho ...
, in the city of
El Puerto de Santa María
EL, El or el may refer to:
Religion
* El (deity), a Semitic word for "God"
People
* EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer
* El DeBarge, music artist
* El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...
.
There are several dams with reservoirs along its course, including the Embalse de Zahara and the Embalse de Bornos. The "
Sierra Greenway", a bicycle path reclaimed from an abandoned railroad line, also passes along the river.
The largest tributaries of the Guadalete are the
Guadalporcún, and the
Majaceite
The Majaceite, also known as the ''Guadalcacín'', is the main tributary of the river Guadalete in Andalusia, Spain. Most of its course runs through the national park of the Sierra de Grazalema. The Battle of Majaceite took place on its banks in ...
, which joins it at Junta de los Ríos downstream from
Arcos de la Frontera
Arcos de la Frontera () is a town and municipality in the Sierra de Cádiz comarca, province of Cádiz, in Andalusia, Spain. It is located on the northern, western and southern banks of the Guadalete river, which flows around three sides of the c ...
.
El río Guadalete
at riosycuencas.com (Spanish)
Historic importance
The river was once the frontier between Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
and Moorish
The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages.
Moors are not a distinct or se ...
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
, receiving the sobriquet ''Río de los Muertos'' (river of the dead).
The river may have been the location of the Battle of Guadalete
The Battle of Guadalete was the first major battle of the Umayyad conquest of Hispania, fought in 711 at an unidentified location in what is now southern Spain between the Christian Visigoths under their king, Roderic, and the invading forces of t ...
in 711, at which the Visigothic
The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...
army was defeated by an invading Muslim army, leading to the conquest of Iberia by the Umayyad Caliphate
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...
.
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 ...
* San Pedro River, Cádiz
San Pedro is a small stream in the province of Cádiz, Spain, close to Guadalete river. It runs for 25 km into the Bay of Cádiz. It flows by Bahía de Cádiz Natural Park.
See also
* List of rivers of Spain
This is an incomplete list of ...
References
External links
Rivers of Spain
Rivers of Andalusia
Geography of the Province of Cádiz
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