The river Jalón () is located in the northeast of

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 ...

, and is one of the principal

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' 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 into which the ...

of the

Ebro The Ebro (Spanish and Basque ; , , ) is a river of the north and northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain. It rises in Cantabria and flows , almost entirely in an east-southeast direction. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a de ...

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

Calatayud Calatayud (; 2014 pop. 20,658) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Province of Zaragoza, within Aragón, Spain, lying on the river Jalón (river), Jalón, in the midst of the Sistema Ibérico mountain range. It is the second-largest ...

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 List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

and

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

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 ( Soria), and then runs through Arcos de Jalón, to

Monreal de Ariza Monreal de Ariza is a municipality located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating populat ...

, province of Zaragoza, Aragón. The tributary river Nágima joins at

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 first of three Era (geology), geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma a ...

zones of the Cordillera Ibérica near Bubierca, being joined by the Piedra and the Manubles at Ateca. 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. Once out of the mountains the river enters the

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. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...

eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

s, and vultures. Other species include owls, wrens, and herons. Poplar,

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

and ash.

Carp The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

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 is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwestern Spain. Castile and León is the largest autonomous community in Spain by area, covering 94,222 km2. It is, however, sparsely populated, with a pop ...

and Castile-La Mancha in 2007.

Etymology

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