Añana is both a valley and
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
located in the province of
Álava
Álava () or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a Provinces of Spain, province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, heir of the ancient Basque señoríos#Lords of Álava, Lordship ...
, in the
Basque Country, northern
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. Its main population center is the village of Salinas de Añana (). Moreover, Añana is also the name of one of the seven counties in which the province of Álava is divided. The town is renowned for its old
salt flats, which were formed beginning in the
Triassic Period
The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is the ...
.
Salt Valley
The salt water in the valley of Añana emerges from natural springs, where it is extracted using evaporation in pans. Archeological evidence suggests the site has been in use for 7,000 years making this the oldest active salt production site in the world. The salt pans as they are seen today were mostly developed in the first century BCE. Over 5,000
pans
Cookware and bakeware is food preparation equipment, such as cooking pots, pans, baking sheets etc. used in kitchens. Cookware is used on a Kitchen stove, stove or range cooktop, while bakeware is used in an oven. Some utensils are considere ...
have been built since
Roman times
In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman civilisation from the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingd ...
, with exportation of its salt a major business, especially after the year 1114 when special rights were granted to the town. It was claimed by the Spanish crown in
1564 who oversaw salt production until
1868. By the 1970s, production had decreased and the pans were largely abandoned as marine salt production had become cheaper and more efficient. At the end of the 20th century the salt pans began to be restored as a not-for-profit organisation, with a significant production of gourmet salts as well as
spa tourism to bring needed income to the area. The site was added to the
European Route of Industrial Heritage in 2019.
References
External links
AÑANA in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia
Salinas de Añana and "Salt Valley" Tourism Office
Municipalities in Álava
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