Riaño is a town and former municipality located along the

Esla River The Esla is a river in the provinces of León and Zamora in the northwest of Spain. It is a tributary of the Duero River that starts in the Cantabrian Mountains and is long. Its direction of flow is from north to south. It is the largest tri ...

in the mountains of the

province of León León (, ; ; ; ) is a province of northwestern Spain in the northern part of the Region of León and in the northwestern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. About one quarter of its population of 463,746 (2018) lives in the c ...

, in the autonomous community of

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 ...

, 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 ...

. Located 1,100 metres above sea level, it is in the

Cantabrian mountains The Cantabrian Mountains or Cantabrian Range () are one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain. They stretch for over 300 km (180 miles) across northern Spain, from the western limit of the Pyrenees to the Galician Massif ...

near the foothills of the

Picos de Europa Picos is a municipality in the state of Piauí in the Northeast region of Brazil. Picos is the state's third-largest city, located in the south-central region of Piauí and is the most economically developed city in the region. The city's fin ...

. The village is across the reservoir from Pico Gilbo. Due to planned construction of a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

and

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

in the 1980s, for

flood control Flood management or flood control are methods used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. Flooding can be caused by a mix of both natural processes, such as extreme weather upstream, and human changes to waterbodies and ru ...

and generation of hydroelectric power, the village and its lowlying farmland were submerged, as were six other villages in the associated dam project. The residents were relocated to New Riaño, built as a replacement higher above the reservoir waters. In 2010 the village had 532 residents.

Pico Gilbo

Located on the banks of the Riaño reservoir, Pico Gilbo (1679 m) is also known as the ''Leonese Matterhorn'', due to its slender and characteristic northern slope that resembles the

Matterhorn The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, ...

in the Alps. Despite not being the highest in the area – Pico Pandián, Yordas and Peñas Pintas are higher – it is its most characteristic peak and the most photographed. The two most common ascent routes are from Riaño and from Horcadas. Beginning from the viaduct across Riaño, a circular route to the summit is 8.2 km long with 675 m of elevation gain. Pico Gilbo summit panorama

Gallery

Noted residents and natives

Imanol Arias Manuel María Arias Domínguez (born 26 April 1956), better known as Imanol Arias, is a Spanish actor. In his career beginnings, Arias was a recurring face of Basque cinema. His career in the 21st-century is marked by his portrayal of Antonio ...

, film actor

References

External links

Montaña de Riaño
official tourism site
Ethnographic Museum Montaña de Riaño

Riaño – 20th Century
Exhibition of photos of the 20th century

Municipalities in the Province of León 1980s disestablishments in Spain Demolished buildings and structures in Spain Buildings and structures demolished in the 20th century {{León-geo-stub

Pico Gilbo

Gallery

Noted residents and natives

See also

References

External links