The Jiloca () is a river in

Aragón Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises th ...

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 ...

, a tributary of the river

Jalón Xaló (; es, Jalón ), is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Marina Alta in the Valencian Community, Spain. Geography The town of Jalón is located in the Jalón Valley. The Jalón or Gorgos river crosses the town, which has a length of . ...

, and part of the watershed of the

Ebro basin The Ebro Basin was a foreland basin that formed to the south of the Pyrenees during the Paleogene. It was also limited to the southeast by the Catalan Coastal Ranges. It began as a fully marine basin with connections to both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

. The course of the river runs through the provinces of

Teruel Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 35,675 in 2014 making it the least populated provincial capital in the country. It is noted for its harsh climate, with ...

and

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

. It has a length of and an average flow rate of , although this varies between the seasons. The river flows in a generally north easterly direction from its source near

Monreal del Campo Monreal del Campo is a municipality in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. Th ...

. The valley was an historic route between the

Meseta Central The ''Meseta Central'' (, sometimes referred to in English as Inner Plateau) is one of the basic geographical units of the Iberian Peninsula. It consists of a plateau covering a large part of the latter's interior. Developed during the 19th cent ...

and the Mediterranean coast. Roman bridges remain in many pueblos and remains of

watermills A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

can be seen. The water is generally of good quality and supports a range of wildlife. Cleaning works by the regional government have been criticised by environmental organisations who claim that the ecology has been damaged. The watershed covers an area of .

Course

The source is disputed, tradition holds that it rises at an artesian well, the Fuente de Cella, at the base of the Sierra Albarracín in

Teruel province Teruel (Catalan: ''Terol'' ) is a province of Aragon, in the northeast of Spain. The capital is Teruel. It is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Castellón, Valencia (including its exclave Rincón de Ademuz), Cuenca, Guadalajara, and Za ...

. The well is surrounded by an elliptical parapet wall built by the Italian engineer Domingo Ferrari. It is now thought that the stretch of river between

Cella A cella (from Latin for small chamber) or naos (from the Greek ναός, "temple") is the inner chamber of an ancient Greek or Roman temple in classical antiquity. Its enclosure within walls has given rise to extended meanings, of a hermit's or ...

and

is the remains of an 18th-century canal which was cut to drain the Laguna Cañizar at Villarquemado. It is currently accepted that the Jiloca raises at the Ojos (Eyes) of Monreal, from the town. These are a series of ponds linked by channels. From Monreal the river flows northwards and near Luco de Jiloca ( Calamocha), the Jiloca is joined by its only tributary, the Pancrudo, which rises away in the Sierra de la Costera. From this point there is an irrigation channel which waters a small valley near

Daroca Daroca is a city and municipality in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, situated to the south of the city of Zaragoza. It is the center of a judicial district. It is located in the basin of Calatayud, in the valley of the Jiloca river. N ...

. The river flows on from Daroca in a north easterly direction, past Manchones, Morero, Montón, Morata de Jiloca, Maruenda and Paracuellos de Jiloca until it joins the Jalón between Carramolina and

Calatayud Calatayud (; 2014 pop. 20,658) is a municipality in the Province of Zaragoza, within Aragón, Spain, lying on the river Jalón, in the midst of the Sistema Ibérico mountain range. It is the second-largest town in the province after the capital, ...

. Towns named after the river are Morata de Jiloca, Paracuellos de Jiloca, Fuentes de Jiloca, Torremocha de Jiloca, Velilla de Jiloca and Villanueva de Jiloca.

Hydrographics

The Jiloca has an average flow rate of , although there are seasonal variations, due to a long dry season and wet seasons in the spring and autumn in the

. Annual rainfall in the watershed varies from around to , with peak precipitation in May and June. The watershed covers an area of .

Natural history

The Ojos de Monreal are a series of artesian wells which form pools connected by small channels. This area is rich in wildlife, including waterfowl, grebes, wrens, kingfishers, owls, orioles and woodpeckers. There are frequently visiting wildfowl from the Laguna de Gallocanta, some away. Thickets of poplar, willow and walnut trees give plenty of shelter. The water is considered in very good condition according to the assessment of the Plan Hidrológico de la Cuenca del Ebro (Hydrological Plan of the Ebro). Further downstream in the valley between Manchones and Morero, birdlife includes goshawks, eagles, orioles, robins, finches, hoopoe and kestrels. Deer and bobcats are found in the Sierra Santa Cruz which borders the river, hedgehogs and shrews are to be found near the banks. Trees include poplars, elm, and ash. In 2000, the Asociación Naturalista de Aragón strongly condemned cleaning works by the regional government, which they said were systematically destroying riparian vegetation, killing fish and upsetting the ecology of the river in the reaches between Daroca and Calatayud. In November 2009, an investigation into soil erosion in the Jiloca basin was announced, with the intention of determining suitable future land use strategies.

History

In the past many water-mills were powered by the river, but now only ruins of these remain. The valley of the Jiloca is an ancient route between the Meseta Central, the Ebro and the coast of the Levante. Many

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 lette ...

bridges remain in the pueblos of the valley.

Tributary

There is one

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

, the Pancrudo, which rises above the pueblo of Pancrudo, in Teruel province and flows generally north east past

Torre los Negros Torre los Negros is a municipality located in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given populat ...

, Navarette del Rio and Lechago before joining the Jiloca at Luca de Jiloca after .

References