The Guadaíra is a river that runs through the province of Seville, in

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

, southern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Its name contains the same ''guad'' root as the much larger Río

Guadalquivir The Guadalquivir (, also , , ) is the fifth-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula and the second-longest river with its entire length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is the only major navigable river in Spain. Currently it is navigable from Seville ...

, coming from the

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

word ''wadi'' (), meaning "river valley". The river runs through the town of Alcalá de Guadaíra in the

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

's metropolitan area. The upper river watershed is from the land to the east and south-east of the town, it proceeds through the town and joins the Guadalquivir to the south of Seville. The river has for many years been heavily contaminated with the by-products of

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

processing and other waste being dumped directly into the river. Large amounts of foam and an unpleasant smell are not uncommon features of the river in the winter. In spite of this the river provides a haven for much wildlife as its banks are well covered with trees and vegetation. On the southern side of the river is a large area of picturesque stone pine woodland, Oromana, and this is a favourite site for weekend and fiesta day outings for both locals and tourists.

See also