Vinalopó
Encyclopedia
Alicante (province)
Alicante or Alacant is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the Valencian Community. It is bordered by the provinces of Murcia on the southwest, Albacete on the west, Valencia on the north, and the Mediterranean Sea on the east...
, 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 at Salinas de Santa Pola.
For some historians, it corresponds to the Alebus incidentally mentioned by Avienus
Avienus
Avienus was a Latin writer of the 4th century AD. According to an inscription from Bulla Regia, his full name was Postumius Rufius Festus Avienius.He was a native of Volsinii in Etruria, from the distinguished family of the Rufii Festi...
in his Ora Maritima.
Three comarca
Comarca
A comarca is a traditional region or local administrative division found in parts of Spain, Portugal, Panama, Nicaragua, and Brazil. The term is derived from the term marca, meaning a "march, mark", plus the prefix co- meaning "together, jointly".The comarca is known in Aragonese as redolada and...
s (districts) in the Alicante province are named after it: Alt Vinalopó, Vinalopó Mitjà
Vinalopó Mitjà
Vinalopó Mitjà is a comarca in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain.-Municipalities:*Algueña*Aspe*Elda*El Fondó de les Neus*Hondón de los Frailes*Monforte del Cid*Monóvar/Monòver*Novelda*Petrer*Pinoso*La Romana...
and Baix Vinalopó
Baix Vinalopó
The Baix Vinalopó is a comarca in the province of Alicante . It is bordered by the comarques of Vinalopó Mitjà and Alacantí on the north and Vega Baja del Segura on the south. Its capital is the city of Elx/Elche, with a population of some 230,000 people live...
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
Bocairent is a municipality in the comarca of Vall d'Albaida in the Valencian Community, Spain....
and Banyeres de Mariola
Banyeres de Mariola
Banyeres de Mariola is a settlement in the north of the province of Alicante , 860 metres above sea level, with a population of 7,500. The main employer is the local textile industry...
in an area known as Els Bruchs. It does not currently discharge into the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, 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
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es known as El Fondo
El Hondo
The Natural Park of El Fondo is located within the municipal boundaries of Elx/Elche and Crevillent both of which are within the comarca of Baix Vinalopó in the south of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain...
Natural Park and the Salines de Santa Pola
Santa Pola
Santa Pola is a coastal town located in the comarca of Baix Vinalopó in the Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea...
Natural Park.
The river, despite having being 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
Banyeres de Mariola
Banyeres de Mariola is a settlement in the north of the province of Alicante , 860 metres above sea level, with a population of 7,500. The main employer is the local textile industry...
, Villena
Villena
Villena is a city in Spain, in the Valencian Community. It is located at the northwest part of Alicante, and borders to the west with Castilla-La Mancha and Murcia, to the north with the province of Valencia and to the east and south with the province of Alicante. It is the capital of the comarca...
, Sax
Sax, Alicante
Sax is a municipality in the comarca of Alt Vinalopó, province of Alicante, Valencian Community.-History:There are archaeological findings in the area dating to the Bronze Age, as well as an Iberian necropolis and remains of Roman villas....
, Elda
Elda
Elda is a city 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 conurbation with over 85,000 inhabitants...
, Petrer
Petrer
Petrer is a town located in the comarca of Vinalopó Mitjà, in the province of Alicante, Spain.Petrer joins together with the city of Elda to form a conurbation with over 95,000 inhabitants...
, Novelda
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 industry....
and Elx/Elche.
Hydrological regime
Despite officially being called a "river", it is actually more a stream, especially south of BeneixamaBeneixama
Beneixama is a municipality in the comarca of Alt Vinalopó in the north of Alicante province, Valencian Community, Spain....
, 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
Banyeres de Mariola
Banyeres de Mariola is a settlement in the north of the province of Alicante , 860 metres above sea level, with a population of 7,500. The main employer is the local textile industry...
) and the Tarafa (another short stream, which flows through Aspe
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, 25 km from Alicante city...
), but both of these may completely dry out during the Summer.
Perhaps more important than these tributaries are the various ramblas
Arroyo (creek)
An arroyo , a Spanish word translated as brook, and also called a wash is usually a dry creek or stream bed—gulch that temporarily or seasonally fills and flows after sufficient rain. Wadi is a similar term in Africa. In Spain, a rambla has a similar meaning to arroyo.-Types and processes:Arroyos...
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
Elda is a city 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 conurbation with over 85,000 inhabitants...
-Petrer
Petrer
Petrer is a town located in the comarca of Vinalopó Mitjà, in the province of Alicante, Spain.Petrer joins together with the city of Elda to form a conurbation with over 95,000 inhabitants...
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
Villena is a city in Spain, in the Valencian Community. It is located at the northwest part of Alicante, and borders to the west with Castilla-La Mancha and Murcia, to the north with the province of Valencia and to the east and south with the province of Alicante. It is the capital of the comarca...
.
Sax, Alicante
Sax is a municipality in the comarca of Alt Vinalopó, province of Alicante, Valencian Community.-History:There are archaeological findings in the area dating to the Bronze Age, as well as an Iberian necropolis and remains of Roman villas....
) 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 which characterizes the area that the river flows through (see Geography of the Comunitat Valenciana), the hydrological cycle 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
Aquifer
An aquifer is a wet underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...
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
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
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 an, in places, quite significant riverbed
Riverbed
Riverbed may refer to:*Stream bed, the channel bottom of a stream or river or creek*Wadi, a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain*Riverbed Technology, an American technology company...
compared to its currently meagre flow. This is particularly so in the stretch between Aspe until below Elche. This may be partially explained by repeated flooding episodes over the centuries enhanced by erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
which the scarcely vegetated matorral
Matorral
Matorral is a Spanish word, along with tomillares, for shrubland, thicket or bushes. It is used in naming and describing a Mediterranean climate ecosystem in Southern Europe.-Mediterranean region:...
areas the river passes through have suffered over time.
Legend has it that Amílcar Barca
Hamilcar Barca
Hamilcar Barca or Barcas was a Carthaginian general and statesman, leader of the Barcid family, and father of Hannibal, Hasdrubal and Mago. He was also father-in-law to Hasdrubal the Fair....
, the father of Hannibal, drowned while trying to cross the Vinalopó as he was fleeing the Iberians
Iberians
The Iberians were a set of peoples that Greek and Roman sources identified with that name in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula at least from the 6th century BC...
following one of the many battles between the Carthaginians and the inhabitants of this area of the Iberian peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
.
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
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
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
Monòver is a municipality in the comarca of Vinalopó Mitjà in the Valencian Community, Spain....
, El Pinós and Villena
Villena
Villena is a city in Spain, in the Valencian Community. It is located at the northwest part of Alicante, and borders to the west with Castilla-La Mancha and Murcia, to the north with the province of Valencia and to the east and south with the province of Alicante. It is the capital of the comarca...
) 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 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 around 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 FondoEl Hondo
The Natural Park of El Fondo is located within the municipal boundaries of Elx/Elche and Crevillent both of which are within the comarca of Baix Vinalopó in the south of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain...
both important areas for migratory birds.
Other areas of interest include Salines Lagoon, Serra de Salina, Elda Reservoir and Elx/Elche Reservoir.