Los Monegros is a comarca in

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 ...

, Spain. It is located within the provinces of Zaragoza and Huesca. The area is prone to chronic droughts, and much of the area is a natural region made up of

badlands Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, m ...

. Los Monegros borders seven comarcas: Hoya de Huesca to the North; Somontano de Barbastro,

Cinca Medio The Cinca Medio is a Comarcas of Aragon, comarca in eastern Aragon, Spain. It is named after river Cinca, Aragon, Cinca. This comarca is bordered on the northwest by the Somontano de Barbastro comarca, to the east by La Litera and the south by ...

, and Bajo Cinca to the East; Zaragoza to the West; and

Ribera Baja del Ebro Ribera Baja del Ebro is a comarca in eastern Aragon, Spain. It is part of the historical region of Lower Aragon. The most important town is Quinto. It is located by the River Ebro about 40 km south-east of Zaragoza. The traditional economy ...

and

Bajo Aragón-Caspe Bajo Aragón-Caspe () or Baix Aragó-Casp () is a comarca in eastern Aragon, bordering the Spanish Autonomous Community of Catalonia. It borders the Aragonese comarques of Matarranya, Monegros, Bajo Cinca, Bajo Martín and Ribera Baja del Ebro ...

to the South.

General information

The Sierra de Alcubierre mountain chain crosses the comarca from Northwest to Southeast. Its maximum elevation is 822 meters, at the mountain called ''Oscuro''. The climate is semiarid, with scarce rainfall and high temperatures in the autumn. The area has numerous saltwater and

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

lakes, including the Lake of Sariñena and the Lake of la Playa. The area's cultural heritage includes several historical monasteries, including the

Monasterio de Santa María de Sigena Monasterio is a municipality located in the province of Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research cente ...

and the

Charterhouse of Las Fuentes The Charterhouse of Las Fuentes ( es, Cartuja de Nuestra Señora de las Fuentes) is a Carthusian monastery, or charterhouse, in Aragon, Spain. It was established in 1507. See also *"Into Great Silence"—an award-winning documentary on the Carthu ...

. In December 2007, the local government announced that the comarca had been chosen for the site of the

Gran Scala Gran Scala was a huge European project to build a "destination city of leisure for all ages" on a site in the desert of Los Monegros, near Ontiñena, in the province of Huesca, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_c ...

, a huge European project to build a "destination city of leisure for all ages." Designed to include numerous theme parks and casinos, the area would become one of the primary entertainment centers of Europe.

Territory and population

References

External links

Official webpage of the Comarca of Los Monegros

Official Map

Comarcas of Aragón, Los Monegros

Tourism guide for Los Monegros

Los Monegros seen by Javier Blasco

Salt lakes of Los Monegros

Tourist information

Todo acerca del proyecto Gran Scala Monegros
*
Los Monegros y Gran Scala
' - Latest news, photos, video, blog about the "Gran Scala" project in Los Monegros * https://web.archive.org/web/20080514201501/http://www.monegrosfestival.com/ {{Comarcas of Aragon Comarcas of Aragon Geography of the Province of Huesca Geography of the Province of Zaragoza Natural regions