The Vinalopó is a small river flowing through the
Alicante province
Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: / ) is a province located in eastern Spain, in the southern part of the Valencian Community. It is the second most populated Valencian province, containing the second and third biggest cities in the Valencian Co ...
, of Spain. It flows from north to south and, with a length of 81 km., it is the longest of the rivers which flows for its entire length within the limits of this province. It discharges into the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
at Salinas de Santa Pola.
For some historians, it corresponds to the ''Alebus'' incidentally mentioned by
Avienius
Postumius Rufius Festus Avienius (or Avienus) was a Latin literature, Latin writer of the 4th century AD. He was a native of Volsinii in Etruria, from the distinguished family of the Rufii Festi.
Avienius is not identical with the historian Fest ...
in his ''Ora Maritima''.
Three
comarca
A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...
s (districts) in the Alicante province are named after it: ''
Alt Vinalopó'', ''
Vinalopó Mitjà
Vinalopó Mitjà (; ; lit. "Middle Vinalopó") is a Comarques of the Valencian Community, ''comarca'' in the Provinces of Spain, province of Alicante (province), Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain.
Municipalities
The ''comarca'' comprises elev ...
'' and ''
Baix Vinalopó'' which mean, respectively, Upper Vinalopó, Middle Vinalopó and Lower Vinalopó.
Its source lies in a mountainous part of the northwest part of the Alicante province, between
Bocairent
Bocairent (, ) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Vall d'Albaida in the Valencian Community
The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous ...
and
Banyeres de Mariola in an area known as ''Els Bruchs''.
[Mapa Topográfico Nacional de España, Banyeres de Mariola, 820 IV, 1:25.000, 2004] It does not currently discharge into the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
, but due to its diminished flow in the lower part of its course, it fades out into a series of small irrigation channels (
séquies) which flow south of
Elx/Elche into the
marsh
In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...
es known as ''
El Fondo'' Natural Park and the ''Salines de
Santa Pola
Santa Pola (; ) is a coastal town located in the comarca of Baix Vinalopó in the Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of and has a population of 36,174 inhabitants of whom 6,000 are residents of the nearby to ...
'' Natural Park.
The river, despite having been tiny during historical times, represents a significant corridor through the generally mountainous terrain surrounding it, along which several cities were settled, namely, from north to south,
Banyeres de Mariola,
Villena
Villena (; ) is a city in Spain, in the Valencian Community. It is located at the northwest part of Alicante (province), Alicante, and borders to the west with Castilla-La Mancha and Region of Murcia, Murcia, to the north with the province of Vale ...
,
Sax,
Elda
Elda (; , ) is a city and municipality located in the province of Alicante, Spain. , it has a total population of 55,618 inhabitants, ranking as the 7th most populous city in the province. Elda joins together with the town of Petrer to form a ...
,
Petrer,
Novelda
Novelda (, ; ) is a town located in the province of Alicante, Spain. , it has a total population of 27,135 inhabitants.
Novelda has important quarries and mines of marble, limestone, silica, clay and gypsum. It is a major centre of the marble in ...
and
Elx/Elche.
Hydrological regime
Despite officially being called a "river", it is actually more a stream, especially south of
Beneixama
Beneixama (; ) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Alt Vinalopó in the north of Alicante province, Valencian Community
The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most ...
, not far from its source. In that location, historical farming rights allow the farmers to take most of its flow for agricultural purposes. Past this location, it turns more into a tiny channel draining the residual waters of the various cities it passes through. Thus, south of Beneixama, its flow is depleted, saline, and polluted.
The upper Vinalopó has two small tributaries, the ''Marchal'' (a short stream near
Banyeres de Mariola) and the ''Tarafa'' (another short stream, which flows through
Aspe
Aspe (, ) is a town and municipality located in the '' comarca'' of Vinalopó Mitjà, in the province of Alicante, Spain.
The town is located in the valley of the river Vinalopó, from Alicante city. The economy of Aspe is based on textile and ...
), but both of these may completely dry out during the Summer.
Perhaps more important than these tributaries are the various
''ramblas'' or dry riverbeds which discharge into the Vinalopó following extensive periods of rain. This is because, despite being a very dry area, Alicante province periodically suffers (within a periodicity that has been estimated as approximately once every 9 years or so) brief episodes of torrential rain (predominantly during the Autumn months, especially October and November). Following one of these episodes, all the dry riverbeds fill with water and discharge into the Vinalopó. This means that for the few days it takes until all this water is drained from the surrounding land, the flow rate of the river approaches what it may have been in the very distant past.
There are a number of important ramblas in the vicinity of
Elda
Elda (; , ) is a city and municipality located in the province of Alicante, Spain. , it has a total population of 55,618 inhabitants, ranking as the 7th most populous city in the province. Elda joins together with the town of Petrer to form a ...
-
Petrer such as the Pusa, Melva, Sapo and Bateig. Another tributary is the Acequia del Rey which discharges into the Vinalopó near Santa Eulalia. The waters of this river are briny and they drain the watershed around
Villena
Villena (; ) is a city in Spain, in the Valencian Community. It is located at the northwest part of Alicante (province), Alicante, and borders to the west with Castilla-La Mancha and Region of Murcia, Murcia, to the north with the province of Vale ...
.
During normal conditions (torrential rain episodes aside), the maximum sustained flow of the Vinalopó is reached by early winter in Colonia Santa Eulalia (near
Sax) with an average of just 0,85 m³/s. By the time it reaches Aspe its average flow has reduced to a mere 0,38 m³/s. However, during periods of peak flow the river has breached its banks resulting in flooding that has caused damage to humans and property in Elda, this has occurred on a number of occasions most notable in 1906 and 1982.
Due to the
semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...
which characterizes the area that the river flows through (see
Geography of the Comunitat Valenciana), the
hydrological cycle
The water cycle (or hydrologic cycle or hydrological cycle) is a biogeochemical cycle that involves the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth across different reservoirs. The mass of water on Earth remains fai ...
in the Vinalopo's watershed is extremely fragile. Hence, were it not for sustained agricultural use over the centuries -not only of water extracted from the river but, probably more importantly, from the
aquifer
An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...
s related to it- it could be argued that the Vinalopó would be a more substantial river. But at the present time, after centuries of usage, and given the restricted precipitation in the area, its fragile hydrological cycle was definitely broken a long time ago and it is now impossible that the aquifers could replenish within a lifetime, even if exploitation ceased completely.
Due to this over extraction and the droughts that the zone suffers the river bed nearest to the point where it historically discharged into the sea ''Salines de Santa Pola'' is left with no flow during certain periods. However, following inundations the river recovers is former flow causing floods in the fields to the south of Elche and in an area of salt flats. This has motivated the Hydrographic Confederation of Júcar to carry out works to recover the former course of the river along its final stretch through the illegal fields around Santa Pola in order that the river discharges into the sea at its former location.
However, due to the particularly dry conditions of the areas it goes through, the Vinalopó may never have been particularly deep or wide, at least not during historical times. Thus, for example, in the 12th century, during the
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...
period, the local author al-Idrîs does not even name it and he just mentions "a brackish stream near Elche whose waters are not good for drinking".
Nevertheless, the Vinalopó has shaped what is, in places, a quite significant
riverbed compared to its currently meager flow. This is particularly so in the stretch from Aspe to below Elche. This may be partially explained by repeated flooding episodes over the centuries enhanced by
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...
, which the scarcely vegetated
matorral
300px, Springtime in Santiago.html" ;"title="Chilean matorral a few kilometers north of Santiago">Chilean matorral a few kilometers north of Santiago along the Pan-American Highway
Matorral is a Spanish language, Spanish word, along with ''tomil ...
areas through which the river passes have suffered over time.
Legend has it that
Amílcar Barca, the father of
Hannibal
Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Punic people, Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Ancient Carthage, Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War.
Hannibal's fat ...
, drowned while trying to cross the Vinalopó as he was fleeing the
Iberians
The Iberians (, from , ''Iberes'') were an ancient people settled in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian Peninsula, at least from the 6th century BC. They are described in Greek and Roman sources (among others, by Hecataeus of Mil ...
following one of the many battles between the
Carthaginians
The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people, Semitic people who Phoenician settlement of North Africa, migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Iron ...
and the inhabitants of this area of the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
.
Urban and industrial axis
The valley of the Vinalopó has been the location of many settlements throughout history, as shown by the important Iberian – Roman villages of ''Idella'' (Elda) o ''Illici'' (Elx/Elche).
During the second half of the 20th century the valley became a dynamic urban and industrial axis with industrial activity mainly concentrated in the footwear and leather goods industries. The majority of Spanish footwear is produced in Elda and Elche and the International Trade Fair for Footwear and Associated Industries has been held in these cities for many years. Shoemaking is also an important industry in other cities such as Petrer, Monòver and Villena.
Viticulture
Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...
is another important sector in this region, particularly in the Middle Vinalopó, where it is possible to define two different areas, the north and the south. The grapes grown in the northern area (around
Monòver
Monòver (, ; ) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Vinalopó Mitjà in the Valencian Community
The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomo ...
,
El Pinós and
Villena
Villena (; ) is a city in Spain, in the Valencian Community. It is located at the northwest part of Alicante (province), Alicante, and borders to the west with Castilla-La Mancha and Region of Murcia, Murcia, to the north with the province of Vale ...
) are used to make wine while those grown in the southern area (centered on Novelda, Aspe and Monforte del Cid) are destined for the table. Grapes grown in the southern area are protected under the
designation of origin
Designation may refer to:
* Designation (law), the process of determining an incumbent's successor
* Professional certification
* Designation (landmarks), an official classification determined by a government agency or historical society
* Designa ...
''Vinalopó Grape''.
Other commercially important activities include the production of cut stone and marble particularly in the area around Novelda, fishing from the port of Santa Pola and tourism again in Santa Pola and centered on urbanizations near to Elx/Elche (Arenales del Sol, El Altet, La Marina, etc.)
The number of people living in the three ''comarcas'' (districts) is around 500,000. The biggest city is Elx/Elche with a population of 230,000, followed by the conurbation of Elda-Petrer-Monòver with 100,000 then Novelda-Aspe with 50,000, Villena has 35,000 inhabitants and Santa Pola has more than 30,000.
Environment
The Vinalopó also has a number of protected wildlife areas. There are three Natural Parks:
Serra de Mariola which is important for the conservation of its flora, ''Salines de Santa Pola'' and ''
El Fondo'' both important areas for migratory birds.
Other areas of interest include Salines Lagoon, Serra de Salina, Elda Reservoir and Elx/Elche Reservoir.
See also
*
List of rivers of Spain
This is an incomplete list of rivers that are at least partially in Spain. The rivers flowing into the sea are sorted along the coast. Rivers flowing into other rivers are listed by the rivers they flow into. Rivers in the mainland Iberian Peninsu ...
Notes
References
External links
Official site of the Jucar River Authority, which regulates other smaller rivers like the Vinalopó. In Spanish.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vinalopo
Rivers of Spain
Rivers of the Valencian Community
Landforms of the Province of Alicante