Matarraña () or Matarranya ()Official name as appears in the establishing law of the comarca (BOA 7/2002 15th april)
/ref> is a

comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...

in eastern

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

, bordering 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 ...

Autonomous Communities eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

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 north ...

and

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

. It is located 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 Zar ...

, in the

mountainous A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

Sistema Ibérico The Iberian System ( es, Sistema Ibérico, ) is one of the major systems of mountain ranges in Spain. It consists of a vast and complex area of mostly relatively high and rugged mountain chains and massifs located in the central region of th ...

area. Its capital is

Valderrobres Valderrobres () or Vall-de-roures () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality and the major town of the ''Comarcas of Spain, comarca'' of Matarraña in the province of Teruel, Aragon (Spain). It is located in view of the landscape of the northw ...

, and it borders the Aragonese comarques of

Bajo Aragón-Caspe/Baix Aragó-Casp The Bajo, Bajonese, Bajonesian, or Wajo, Wajonese ( bug, ᨈᨚ ᨓᨍᨚ, To Wajo; pey, Badjo; nl, Badjo, ) are the indigenous Indonesian ethnic group native to the Bajo Island of Lesser Sunda Islands (''Nusa Tenggara'') in Indonesia. These ...

, and

Bajo Aragón Bajo Aragón (; an, Baxo Aragón; ca, Baix Aragó), or Lower Aragon, is an administrative comarca in eastern central Aragon, Spain. It was first established in 1999. It has a population of 29,358 (2007) and an area of 1.304,2 km2. The seat ...

, the Catalan comarques of Terra Alta,

Baix Ebre Baix Ebre (, "Lower Ebre") is a comarca (county), on the coast in southern Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by it ...

, and

Montsià Montsià () is the southernmost comarca (county) of Catalonia in Spain. Its capital and largest city is Amposta. History Almost all Montsià municipalities are part of the Taula del Sénia free association or mancomunitat (commonwealth). Munic ...

, and the Valencian comarques of

Baix Maestrat Baix Maestrat (; es, Bajo Maestrazgo ) is a coastal Comarques of the Valencian Community, ''comarca'' located in the north of the Provinces of Spain, province of Castellón (province), Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain. The capital of the '' ...

and

Ports A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

. This comarca is named after the

Matarranya River The Matarranya ( es, Río Matarraña, ca, Riu Matarranya) is a river in the provinces of Teruel and Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. It begins its course at 1,200 m northeast of the Tossal d'Encanader, Ports de Beseit. limestone massif near La Pobla de ...

flowing through it. It belongs to the Catalan-speaking strip in eastern Aragon known as

La Franja La Franja (; "The Strip"; an, Francha ) is the area of Catalan-speaking territories of eastern Aragon bordering Catalonia, in Spain. It literally means ''"the strip"'' and can also more properly be called (Aragonese Strip), (Western Strip) or ...

Historical comarca

The

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

Matarranya comarca was a

natural region A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecology, ecological point of view, the naturally occurring fl ...

that roughly encompassed the whole Matarranya

river basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, the ...

. The historical comarca was split for administrative purposes when

provincial Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

boundaries were traced following the territorial division of Spain in 1833. After the new divisions were created, the northern section, the Lower Matarranya, became part of the

Zaragoza Province Zaragoza (), also called Saragossa in English,''Encyclopædia Britannica''Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)/ref> is a province of northern Spain, in the central part of the autonomous community of Aragon. Its capital is Zaragoza, which is also th ...

while the southern part remained in Teruel Province. This former northern territory, that included the municipalities of

Fayón Fayón () or Faió () is a municipality located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 395 inhabitants. This town is located between the Ebro and the Matarranya river ...

(Faió del Matarranya),

Maella Maella (; ) is a municipality located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2015 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 1,953 inhabitants. This town is located in La Franja, the local dialect is a variant of Cata ...

and

Fabara Fabara () or Favara de Matarranya () is a municipality located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 1,195 inhabitants. This town is located in La Franja, the local d ...

(Favara del Matarranya), is now the eastern end of the

comarca. Some of the western municipalities that remained in Teruel Province,

Aguaviva Aguaviva () or Aiguaiva de Bergantes () is a municipality located in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2018 census (INE), the municipality had a population of 522 inhabitants. It is known as ''Aiguaiva de Bergantes'' in the ...

(Aiguaviva de Bergantes),

Belmonte de San José Belmonte de San José () or Bellmunt de Mesquí () is a municipality located in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German ...

(Bellmunt de Mesquí),

La Cañada de Verich La Cañada de Verich () or La Canyada de Veric () is a municipality located in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German ...

(La Canyada de Beric), La Cerollera (La Sorollera),

La Codoñera La Codoñera () or La Codonyera () is a municipality located in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear researc ...

(La Codonyera), La Ginebrosa and

Torrevelilla Torrevelilla () or La Torre de Vilella () is a municipality located in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear r ...

(La Torre de Vilella) were later segregated from Matarranya and included in the

comarca.

Municipal terms

The Catalan version of the names of the towns are in brackets. * Arens de Lledó (Arenys de Lledó) *

Beceite Beceite () or Beseit () is a municipality located in the Matarraña/Matarranya comarca, province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 603 inhabitants. It is part of the Taula del Séni ...

(Beseit) * Calaceite (Calaceit) * Cretas (Cretes or Queretes) * Fórnoles (Fórnols de Matarranya) * La Fresneda (La Freixneda) * Fuentespalda (Fontdespatla) *

Lledó Lledó ( or Lledó d'Algars () is a municipality located in the Matarraña/Matarranya comarca, province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgun ...

(Lledó d'Algars) * Mazaleón (Massalió) *

Monroyo Monroyo () or Mont-roig de Tastavins () is a municipality located in the Matarraña/Matarranya comarca, province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare En ...

(Mont-roig de Tastavins) *

Peñarroya de Tastavins Peñarroya de Tastavins () or Pena-roja () is a municipality located in the Matarranya comarca, province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 527 inhabitants. It is part of the Taula de ...

(Pena-roja de Tastavins) * La Portellada * Ráfales (Ràfels) *

Torre de Arcas Torre de Arcas () or Torredarques () is a municipality located in the Matarraña/Matarranya comarca, province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Ents ...

(Torredarques) *

Torre del Compte Torre del Compte () or La Torre del Comte () is a municipality located in the Matarraña/Matarranya, Teruel (province), province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census (Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain), INE), the municip ...

(La Torre del Comte) * Valdeltormo (La Vall de Tormo) *

(Vall-de-roures) * Valjunquera (Valljunquera)

References

External links

Official Comarca of Matarraña/Matarranya websiteLandscaping Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matarrana Matarranya Comarcas of Aragon Geography of the Province of Teruel La Franja

Historical comarca

Municipal terms

See also

References

External links