The Genil River is the main (left) tributary of the river

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 the Gulf ...

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

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") , i ...

. The

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

''Singilis'', its modern name derives from the

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 ...

rendering of the Roman name: ''Sinyil, Sannil'', and ''Sinnil''.

Route

The source of the Genil is in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

, north of its highest peak

Mulhacén Mulhacén (), with an elevation of , is the highest mountain in peninsular Spain and in all of the Iberian Peninsula. It is part of the Sierra Nevada range in the Cordillera Penibética. It is named after Abu l-Hasan Ali, known as ''Muley Hac� ...

. The Genil flows through the towns

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

, Loja,

Puente Genil Puente Genil () is a Jonian city in the province of Jonia, autonomous community of Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonom ...

and

Écija Écija () is a city and municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Seville, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is in the countryside, 85 km east of the city of Seville. According to the 2008 census, Écija had a total populat ...

. It flows into the Guadalquivir River near

Palma del Río Palma del Río is a city located in the province of Córdoba, Spain. According to the 2006 census by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística, the city has a population of 20,640. Agriculture The region was intensively developed agriculturally d ...

. Its main tributary is the Darro. It is joined by the

Cacín River The Cacín River ( es, Río Cacín) is a river in Andalusia, Spain. It is supplied by streams flowing north from the Sierra de Almijara and Sierra de Tejeda into the Granada Basin. The river originates in the Los Bermejales Reservoir, and flows n ...

to the southwest of Villanueva Mesía.

Geological history

The river today drains the

Granada basin The Granada Basin, Depression of Granada or Granada Depression ( es, Depresión de Granada) is a totally enclosed valley in Andalusia, Spain. The river Genil runs through the valley upon exiting from the Sierra Nevada until it passes through the ...

. In the latest

Tortonian The Tortonian is in the geologic time scale an age or stage of the late Miocene that spans the time between 11.608 ± 0.005 Ma and 7.246 ± 0.005 Ma (million years ago). It follows the Serravallian and is followed by the Messinian. The Torton ...

and the middle and late

Turolian The Turolian age is a period of geologic time (9.0–5.3 Ma) within the Miocene used more specifically with European Land Mammal Ages. It precedes the Ruscinian age and follows the Vallesian age. The Turolian overlaps the Tortonian The Tortoni ...

(9.0–5.3 Ma) this was an

endorheic basin An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into lakes ...

. Rivers flowed from the east and southwest into a central lake with no exit. During the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58exorheic Open and closed lakes refer to the major subdivisions of lakes – bodies of water surrounded by land. Exorheic, or open lakes drain into a river, or other body of water that ultimately drains into the ocean. Endorheic basins fall into the ca ...

References

Guadalquivir {{Spain-river-stub

Route

Geological history

See also

References