The Cacín River () is a river in
Andalusia
Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...
, Spain. It is supplied by streams flowing north from the
Sierra de Almijara and
Sierra de Tejeda
The Sierra de Tejeda is a mountain range in the Penibaetic System of mountains between the provinces of Málaga and Granada in Spain.
Together with the Sierra de Almijara to the east and the Sierra de Alhama to the west it constitutes a limesto ...
into the
Granada Basin.
The river originates in the
Los Bermejales Reservoir, and flows north to join the
Genil
The Genil River is the main (left) tributary of the river Guadalquivir in Andalusia, Spain. Known as ''Singilis'' in Latin, it bears a modern name derives from the Moorish rendering of the Roman name: ''Sinyil, Sannil'', and ''Sinnil''.
Route
The ...
river.
In its upper reaches it runs through a deep gorge that holds traces of
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...
human occupation.
Geological history
In the latest
Tortonian
The Tortonian is in the geologic time scale an age or stage of the late Miocene that spans the time between 11.608 ± 0.005 Ma and 7.246 ± 0.005 Ma (million years ago). It follows the Serravallian and is followed by the Messinian.
The Tort ...
and the middle and late
Turolian
The Turolian age is a period of geologic time (9.0–5.3 Ma) within the Miocene used more specifically with European Land Mammal Ages. It precedes the Ruscinian age and follows the Vallesian age. The Turolian overlaps the Tortonian and Messinia ...
(9.0–5.3 Ma) the Granada basin was an
endorheic basin
An endorheic basin ( ; also endoreic basin and endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water (e.g. rivers and oceans); instead, the water drainage flows into permanent ...
.
Rivers flowed from the east and southwest into a central lake with no exit.
During the
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58[Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58](_blank)[Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58](_blank)[Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...](_blank)
, the Genil river changed course to flow west, where it joined the paleo-Cacin system, and the basin became completely
exorheic.
Before this period the basin had been collecting sediments. Afterwards the main pattern has been erosion.
Sources
The Sierra Almijara and Sierra Tejeda form the southern margin of the western part of the
Granada basin, and contain the tributaries of the Cacín river.
The Cacín River originates in the Sierra de la Almijara, from an aquifer of Alpujárride Complex limestone in the higher level, with shale and quartzite lower down.
There are numerous springs in this area, mostly higher than above sea level.
They include Monticana, Cortijo Cabañeros, Las Golondrinas, Agujerillo Caliente, María Santísima and others.
Other streams include the Anales, Játar and Jayena.
All these small rivers run through wilderness areas of great beauty.
Much of the runoff from the north face of the Sierra de la Almijara is collected in the Bermejales reservoir.
Route
The Cacín River forms in what is now the Los Bermejales Reservoir, where several streams from the
Sierras of Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama Natural Park
The Sierras of Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama Natural Park () is a protected area in the Spanish provinces of Province of Málaga, Málaga and Province of Granada, Granada. It contains the Sierra de Tejeda and Sierra de Almijara mountains.
The park i ...
converge.
It flows north through a narrow canyon known as the ''Tajos de los Bermejales'', where it has drops of .
The Cacín river irrigates the lands of the west of the
Vega de Granada ''comarca''.
It joins the
Genil
The Genil River is the main (left) tributary of the river Guadalquivir in Andalusia, Spain. Known as ''Singilis'' in Latin, it bears a modern name derives from the Moorish rendering of the Roman name: ''Sinyil, Sannil'', and ''Sinnil''.
Route
The ...
to the southwest of
Villanueva Mesía.
Tajos de los Bermejales
The Tajos de los Bermejales gorge is in the
comarca de Alhama, in the municipality of
Arenas del Rey.
It extends from the Bermejales dam to what is called the Roman bridge, although it was built in the 1940s.
It is accessible through a difficult walking trail that includes sections of hanging bridges, ladders and support ropes.
The river dug the gorge through sandstones, clays and soft conglomerates in the
Quaternary
The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...
era.
The canyon walls are home to many species of bird, including raptors such as
common kestrel
The common kestrel (''Falco tinnunculus''), also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel or Old World kestrel, is a species of bird of prey, predatory bird belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family (biology), family Falconidae. ...
(''Falco tinnunculus''), ''
accipiter
''Accipiter'' () is a genus of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. Some species are called sparrowhawks, but there are many sparrowhawks in other genera such as '' Tachyspiza''.
These birds are slender with short, broad, rounded wings and ...
'' and
Eurasian eagle-owl
The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl, a type of bird that resides in much of Eurasia. It is often just called the eagle-owl in Europe and Asia.
It is one of the largest species of owl. Females can grow to a total le ...
(''Bubo bubo''), colonies of
western jackdaw
The western jackdaw (''Coloeus monedula''), also known as the Eurasian jackdaw, the European jackdaw, or simply the jackdaw, is a passerine bird in the crow family. Found across Europe, western Asia and western North Africa; it is mostly resi ...
(''Coloeus monedula''),
rock dove
The rock dove (''Columba livia''), also sometimes known as "rock pigeon" or "common pigeon", is a member of the bird family Columbidae (doves and pigeons). In common usage, it is often simply referred to as the "pigeon", although the rock dov ...
(''Columba livia''),
rock thrush
The rock thrushes, ''Monticola'', are a genus of chat (bird), chats, medium-sized mostly insectivorous or omnivorous songbirds. All are Old World birds, and most are associated with mountainous regions.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Monticola'' was erect ...
(''Monticola''),
wheatear
The wheatears are passerine birds of the genus ''Oenanthe''. They were formerly considered to be members of the thrush family, Turdidae, but are now more commonly placed in the flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. This is an Old World group, but ...
(''Oenanthe''),
bee-eater
The bee-eaters are a group of birds in the family (biology), family Meropidae, containing three genera and thirty-one species. Most species are found in Africa and Asia, with a few in southern Europe, Australia, and New Guinea. They are characte ...
(''Meropidaes''),
barn swallow
The barn swallow (''Hirundo rustica'') is the most widespread species of swallow in the world, occurring on all continents, with vagrants reported even in Antarctica. It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts and a long, deeply f ...
(''Hirundo rustica'') and
Eurasian crag martin (''Ptyonoprogne rupestris'').
The
Southeastern Spanish ibex
The southeastern Spanish ibex (''Capra pyrenaica hispanica''), or the Spanish ibex, is an ibex that is endemism, endemic to Spain and is the only wild caprinae, caprine native to Spain. It is a subspecies of the Iberian ibex.
The Spanish ibex i ...
(''Capra pyrenaica hispanica'') may also be seen in the gorge.
Neolithic inhabitants
Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
people lived in the canyon 5,000 years ago, sheltering under its overhanging walls and using the river as source of food.
There are traces of these early settlers on the canyon walls about above the present river level.
Some of the walls they built to enclose the cavities in the canyon wall are still visible.
At that time the canyon was not so deep, and stairways and ladders were used to reach the dwellings, which were built high for defensive reasons.
A clay vessel known as the ''Olla de Cacín'' (Cacín Pot) was found in the river bed and is preserved in the
National Archaeological Museum, Madrid.
It is the most southern example of
Cardium pottery
Cardium pottery or Cardial ware is a Neolithic decorative style that gets its name from the imprinting of the clay with the heart-shaped shell of the '' Corculum cardissa'', a member of the cockle family Cardiidae. These forms of pottery are ...
in Europe.
Notes
Sources
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:
Rivers of Andalusia
Rivers of Spain