Girona (river)

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Ebo / Girona
The bed of the Girona in El Verger at a time with little water flow

The bed of the Girona in El Verger at a time with little water flow

Data
location Alicante Province, Spain
River system Girona
source at Alcalá de la Jovada
38 ° 47 ′ 49 ″  N , 0 ° 13 ′ 49 ″  W.
Source height 1300  msnm
muzzle into the Mediterranean at Punta de Almadraba near Els Poblets Coordinates: 38 ° 51 '53 "  N , 0 ° 1' 17"  E, 38 ° 51 '53 "  N , 0 ° 1' 17"  E
Mouth height 0  msnm
Height difference 1300 m
Bottom slope 34 ‰
length 38.6 km
Catchment area 117.7 km²
Drain MQ
 10 m³ / s
Navigable Not

The Girona is a small, periodically water-bearing river in the north of the Spanish province of Alicante , which flows directly into the Mediterranean Sea.

River course

Location of Girona in the province of Alicante

The Girona rises in the Barranco de Fontblanca valley near Alcalá de la Jovada (municipality of Vall de Alcalá). Like many Spanish rivers, it has a different name at its upper reaches. It's called Ebo and flows through the valley of the same name. Then, now under the name Girona, it passes the narrow gorge of the Barranco del Infierno (Hell's Gorge) cut deep into the limestone of the Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary (Oligocene ). Then he steps out into the gently sloping plain on the coast, framed by mountains. At the headland of Punta de Almadraba on the boundary between Els Poblets and Denia, it flows into the Mediterranean.

The Girona flows through the following districts from the source to the mouth:

  • Vall de Alcalá (as Ebo), Vall de Ebo (as Ebo), Vall de Laguart, Orba , Tormos, Sagra, Ráfol de Almunia, Benimeli, Sanet y Negrals, Beniarbeig, Ondara , El Verger, Els Poblets

Water flow

The Girona near Beniarbeig

The Girona dries up over the summer. In autumn, after months of summer drought, heavy rains usually set in. From this point on, it will then return to water over winter. In some years, during the cool down at the end of summer, which usually falls in October, there is extremely heavy rainfall called Gota Fría . They led to severe flooding of the Girona in 1919, 1941, 1985 and 2007.

It reached its highest water level to date on October 12, 2007, when it rained over 300 mm in its catchment area within a few hours, locally even over 400 mm. The masses of water tore the bridge from Beniarbeig with it and caused severe damage in the lower reaches of 500 apartments in Beniarbeig and 32 houses in El Verger. One woman lost her life in the process. In the streets, the water reached heights of up to 2 meters. Numerous cars were swept away by the river, 1500 damaged in total. The flow rate during this event in Beniarbeig is estimated at around 1000 m³ / s.

Dam wall

In 1945, a dam was built at the narrowest point in the area where the Girona exits the gorge into the plain. At a height of 29 m, the crown has a length of 28 m. The planned Embalse de Isbert reservoir would have a capacity of just over one cubic hectometer and a water surface of 8 hectares. Due to the nature of the geological subsoil, however, the water seeps away quickly, so that the reservoir only fills up briefly in extreme events. In addition, a large accumulation of sludge significantly reduces the original capacity.

gallery

  • River bed in the Barranco del Infierno

  • Destroyed Beniarbeig Bridge in 2007

  • New bridge from Beniarbeig 2008

Web links

Commons : Girona (river)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

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Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Confederación hidrográfica del Júcar (Ministry of the Environment) ( Memento of June 18, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (Spanish)
  2. ^ Geological map of Spain 1: 50,000, sheet Benisa (Instituto Geológico y Minero de España) 1958