The river Jalón ( la, Salo) is located in the northeast of

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") , ...

, and is one of the principal

tributaries 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 drain ...

of the

Ebro , name_etymology = , image = Zaragoza shel.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza , map = SpainEbroBasin.png , map_size = , map_caption = The Ebro ...

. It has a length of and drains a basin of . The flow rate in

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, ...

is , but is highly irregular due to the great range of Mediterranean rainfall patterns. The course of the river forms the main communication route between the Castilian Plateau and the Ebro. Until the late twentieth century, roads and railways between

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

and

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Province of Zaragoza, Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Ara ...

followed this path.

Geography

The Jalón rises in one of the springs at the foot of the Sierra Ministra, a hill in Esteras de Medinaceli,

Medinaceli Medinaceli () is a municipality and town in the province of Soria, in Castile and León, Spain. The municipality includes other villages like Torralba del Moral. Etymology Its name derives from the Arabic 'madīnat salīm', which was named aft ...

(

Soria Soria () is a municipality and a Spanish city, located on the Douro river in the east of the autonomous community of Castile and León and capital of the province of Soria. Its population is 38,881 ( INE, 2017), 43.7% of the provincial populati ...

), and then runs through

Arcos de Jalón Arcos de Jalón is a municipality located in the Soria (province), province of Soria, Castile and León, Spain. , it had a population of 1,782. List of settlements included in the municipality * Aguilar de Montuenga * Chaorna * Jubera * Judes * ...

, to Monreal de Ariza,

province of Zaragoza 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 t ...

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 ...

. The tributary river Nágima joins at Monreal de Ariza and the Henar at Cetina before the river enters a limestone gorge at Alhama de Aragón. The Jalón then meanders through the

Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ...

zones of the Cordillera Ibérica near Bubierca, being joined by the

Piedra Piedra is a hair disease caused by a fungus, which causes formation of nodules on the hair shaft.Veasey JV, Avila RB, Miguel BAF, Muramatu LH. White piedra, black piedra, tinea versicolor, and tinea nigra: contribution to the diagnosis of superfic ...

and the Manubles at

Ateca Ateca is a municipality located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. At the time of the 2015 census (INE), the municipality had a population of 1,969. The River Jalón is joined by the River Piedra and the River Manubles at Ateca. The ...

. At

, the river expands into a broad valley and is joined by the Jiloca, Perejiles and Ribota. The next section meanders through the Sierra de Algairén and the

Sierra de la Virgen Sierra de la Virgen is a mountain range in the Aranda and Comunidad de Calatayud comarcas, Aragon, Spain. It is located south of the Moncayo Massif between the valleys of the Jalón and the Aranda rivers, rising north of the N-234 road, roughly ...

. Once out of the mountains the river enters the

Ebro , name_etymology = , image = Zaragoza shel.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza , map = SpainEbroBasin.png , map_size = , map_caption = The Ebro ...

valley and is joined by the rivers Aranda, Grío and Alpartir before joining the Ebro at Torres de Berrellén, a suburb of the city of

Ecology

Much of the course of the Jalón has been declared a Special Zone for Bird Protection. Birdlife includes

falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

s, and

vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

s. Other species include owls,

wren Wrens are a family of brown passerine birds in the predominantly New World family Troglodytidae. The family includes 88 species divided into 19 genera. Only the Eurasian wren occurs in the Old World, where, in Anglophone regions, it is commonl ...

s, and

herons The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

. Poplar,

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

and

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non-gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

Carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...

and eels were economically important in the past and are returning as pollution is being combated. The ''Plan Hidrológico del río Jalón'', a river management plan, was adopted by the Spanish Ministry of the Environment and the governments of Aragon,

Castile and León Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain. It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of th ...

and Castile-La Mancha in 2007.

Etymology

According to E. Bascuas, "Jalón" is a form belonging to the

old European hydronymy Old European (german: Alteuropäisch) is the term used by Hans Krahe (1964) for the language of the oldest reconstructed stratum of European hydronymy (river names) in Central and Western Europe.Hans Krahe, ''Unsere ältesten Flussnamen'', Wiesb ...

, and derived from the Indoeuropean root ''*sal-'' 'flowing water, stream'.

References

External links

Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro (Spanish) - Data and documentation on rivers of the Ebro Basin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jalon (river) Rivers of Spain Province of Zaragoza Province of Soria Ebro basin Sistema Ibérico Rivers of Aragon

Geography

Ecology

Etymology

See also

References

External links