The Ripoll is a river in the ''
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, ...
'' of
Vallès Occidental
Vallès Occidental () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. Sabadell and Terrassa are the comarcal capitals. Along with Vallès Oriental it forms the grand comarca of Vallès, and is part of the Barcelona metropolitan area.
Physical geogra ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
. It covers the vast majority of the shire, crossing it from north to south, and flows into the river
Besòs, near
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
.
Geography
The source of the river is located in the
Serra de Granera, at of
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...
, and it discharges in
Montcada i Reixac
Montcada i Reixac (In Spanish Moncada y Reixach ) (), often referred to as simply Montcada, is a municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'' of the Vallès Occidental in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated at the c ...
, at . It has a length of , with a total of , once its tributaries are included. It covers the vast majority of the ''
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, ...
'' of
Vallès Occidental
Vallès Occidental () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. Sabadell and Terrassa are the comarcal capitals. Along with Vallès Oriental it forms the grand comarca of Vallès, and is part of the Barcelona metropolitan area.
Physical geogra ...
, passing through the
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of
Sant Llorenç Savall
Sant Llorenç Savall is a municipality of the comarca of Vallès Occidental, in Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' b ...
,
Castellar del Vallès
Castellar del Vallès is a Spanish municipality of Catalonia in the comarca of Vallès Occidental. It is located 7 km from Sabadell and 11 km from Terrassa, the comarca's two capitals. Other villages near Castellar del Vallès are Sant ...
,
Sabadell
Sabadell () is a city in Catalonia, Spain. It is in the south of the ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental and its joint capital (co-capital), on the River Ripoll, north of Barcelona. Sabadell is located above sea level.
Sabadell pioneered the Ind ...
,
Barberà del Vallès
Barberà del Vallès is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Vallès Occidental
Vallès Occidental () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. Sabadell and Terrassa are the comarcal capitals. Along with Vallès Oriental it forms the gra ...
,
Ripollet
Ripollet is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Vallès Occidental in Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by i ...
and Montcada i Reixac. Throughout the ''comarca'', it crosses
alluvial
Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...
clay terrains, which erodes easily, causing the river to carve a deep path into the soil.
History
Throughout its history, the river was used by the inhabitants of the surrounding area for irrigation. Irrigation has been in place from at least the mid-10th century, when priests of
Sant Llorenç built an irrigation system that is still used to work the orchards along the riverside and
mills
Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to:
As a name
*Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin
* Mills (given name)
*Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine
Places Unit ...
to produce
flour
Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...
.
As modernization also reached the area, most of the mills were reconverted to produce paper. However, by the 18th century, the production of paper had ceased to be a dominant industry along the river.
During the 19th century, the mills of the riverside were reconverted again, this time into
textile
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
factories, which lasted until the late 20th century. Due to the dyes and chemicals used in the textile industry, the water of the river became heavily polluted.
More recently, because of the
Catalan
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
* Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia
Places
* 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
textile crisis, most of the factories were abandoned or reconverted for other uses, lessening the strain on the river's water quality. Recently, there have been initiatives to recover the Ripoll for community recreation, by restoring the river, which had deteriorated due not only to industrial pollution but also to the shanty towns made by immigrants who came to work in the mills from
Southern Spain
Southern may refer to:
Businesses
* China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China
* Southern Airways, defunct US airline
* Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US
* Southern Airways Express, M ...
during the 1960s.
1962 disaster
In 1962, the
Vallès Occidental
Vallès Occidental () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. Sabadell and Terrassa are the comarcal capitals. Along with Vallès Oriental it forms the grand comarca of Vallès, and is part of the Barcelona metropolitan area.
Physical geogra ...
suffered a period of strong floods followed by winds that devastated the shire and caused hundreds of deaths. The immigrants from southern Spain who were extremely poor and had settled in the riverside suffered the worst consequences.
[Websites with pictures and information about the windfalls and floods of 1962: , , ]
See also
*
List of rivers of Catalonia
References
External links
Pictures of the floods and the snowfall of 1962Sabadell City Council's website, which contains some pages with information about the river and its historyWebsite talking about the floods of 1962 in Terrassa*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070927035215/http://www.cerdanyola.info/reportatges/reportatge9146.html Digital newspaper of the Cerdanyola City Council{{coord, 41, 41, 17.36, N, 2, 3, 23.79, E, display=title, region:ES-CT_type:river_source:cawiki
Rivers of Spain
Vallès Occidental
Rivers of Catalonia