Ebro

[ee-broh; Sp. e-vraw]

Ebro, Catalan Ebre,longest river entirely in Spain, c.575 mi (925 km) long, rising in the Cantabrian Mts., N Spain, and flowing SE between the Pyrenees and the Iberian Mts. past Logroño and Zaragoza. It empties through a wide delta into the Mediterranean below Tortosa. The river is of little use for inland navigation because of varying volume. In its middle course the waters are canalized for irrigation. The Jalón, the Gallego, and the Cínca-Segre are the main tributaries. Large hydroelectric power plants in the Ebro system supply c.50% of Spain's hydroelectricity.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Ebro

The Ebro (Ebre) is Spain's most voluminous river. Its source is in Fontibre (Cantabria). It flows through cities such as Miranda de Ebro, Logroño, Zaragoza, Flix, Tortosa, and Amposta before discharging in a delta on the Mediterranean Sea in the province of Tarragona.

Name

The Romans named this river Iber (Iberus Flumen), hence its current name but probably derives from the greek Hèvros, Εβρος. Arguably the whole peninsula and some of the peoples living there were named after the river.

History

In Antiquity, The Ebro was used as the dividing line between Roman (north) and Carthaginian (south) expansions after the First Punic War. When Rome, fearful of Hannibal's growing influence in the Iberian Peninsula, made the city of Saguntum (considerably south of the Ebro) a protectorate of Rome, Hannibal viewed this treaty as an aggressive action by Rome and used the event as the catalyst to the Second Punic War.

One of the earliest Cistercian monasteries in Spain, Real Monasterio de Nuestra Senora de Rueda (Royal Monastery of Our Lady of the Wheel), is located on the banks of the Ebro in Aragon. This edifice survives to the present intact, having been established in the year 1202. The monastery is strongly connected to the Ebro, since it used one of the first large waterwheels established in Spain for the production of power. The monastery also diverted flow from the Ebro to create a circulating hydrological central heating system for its buildings.

The river Ebro was the initial starting ground of one of the most famous Republican offensives during the Spanish Civil War, in 1938. The offensive itself, known as the Battle of the Ebro, ended in defeat for the Republican forces, even though they enjoyed initial success in its first stages. However, they were not able to reach the desired objective of Gandesa.

Delta geography

The Ebro delta is one of the largest wetland areas (320 km²) in the western Mediterranean region. The Ebro delta has grown rapidly—the historical rate of growth of the delta is demonstrated by the town of Amposta. This town was a seaport in the 4th Century, and is now located well inland from the current Ebro river mouth. The rounded form of the delta attests to the balance between sediment deposition by the Ebro and removal of this material by wave erosion.

The modern delta is in intensive agricultural use for rice, fruit, and vegetables. The Ebro delta also hosts numerous beaches, marshes, and salt pans that provide habitat for over 300 species of birds. A large part of the delta was designated as Ebro Delta Natural Park in 1983. A network of canals and irrigation ditches constructed by both agricultural and conservation groups are helping to maintain the ecologic and economic resources of the Ebro Delta.