Pla d'Urgell

Pla d'Urgell
	The location of the Comarca Pla d'Urgell in Catalonia
Basic data
Province:	Lleida
Main place:	Mollerussa
Surface:	305.1 km²
Residents:	36,693 (2019)
Municipalities:	16

The Comarca Pla d'Urgell is located in the province of Lleida of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia , ( Spain ). The community association has an area of 305.1 km² and 36,693 inhabitants (2019). The association of municipalities only came into being in 1988 through the merger of municipalities that previously belonged to the Comarcas les Garrigues, Noguera, Segrià and Urgell.

location

The community association is located in the western part of Catalonia, approx. 20 km east of the provincial capital Lleida . It borders in the north on the Comarca Noguera , in the east on Urgell , in the south on Garrigues and in the west on Segrià . Together with the comarcas Garrigues, Noguera, Segarra , Segrià and Urgell, the region forms the Ponent territory .

The fertile plain of Urgell ( cat. Plana d'Urgell ) is part of the central Catalan valley. The landscape with its rolling hills is criss-crossed with a network of irrigation canals. The highest elevation with 348 m is the mountain lo Tossal in the exclave belonging to the common Barbens in the area of the Comarca Urgell. The river Corb, tributary of the Segre, flows through the comarca from southeast to northwest.

Estany d'Ivars - Vila-sana

The formerly important wetland in the northeast of the comarca was drained in 1951. It was not until 2005 that the area was renaturalized, connected to the Urgell Canal and flooded. Today the lake is 2200 m long, 800 m wide, approx. 2 m deep and has an area of 126 hectares. The Estany d'Ivars - Vila-sana has again become the most important wetland in the interior of Catalonia. More than 200 different bird species, including migratory birds and winter guests, have been counted in this biotope.

Urgell Canal

Canal d'Urgell

The Arabs built the first irrigation systems in the Urgell plain.

The Canal Principal ( dt: main canal ) was built in the years 1861 to 1865 and has a total length of 144.2 km. Part of the project was a 5 km long underground canal. The canal is fed by the Segre and Corb rivers.

1929 to 1932, the canal network was expanded to include the 76.6 km long Canal Auxiliar ( German: auxiliary canal ). The canal draws its water from the Sant Llorenç de Montgai reservoir .

With the construction of the irrigation system, the formerly arid region became an important growing area for agricultural products. The canals irrigate an area of 70,242 ha.

economy

The most important branch of the economy is agriculture and livestock. Their products are processed by the local food industry.

Communities

Status: 2019

Map of Pla d'Urgell

local community	Residents	Area (km²)	local community	Residents	Area (km²)
Barbs	878	7.63	Miralcamp	1351	14.83
Bell-lloc d'Urgell	2315	35.07	Mollerussa	14,683	6.95
Bellvís	2255	46.73	El Palau d'Anglesola	2166	12.36
Castellnou de Seana	683	16.32	Poal	648	8.86
Fondarella	784	5.35	Sidamon	734	8.16
Golmés	1840	16.79	Torregrossa	2202	40.74
Ivars d'Urgell	1531	24.22	Vila-sana	742	19.18
Linyola	2700	28.72	Vilanova de Bellpuig	1181	13.80

Web links

Commons : Pla d'Urgell - collection of images, videos and audio files

Official website of the comarca (Catalan)
Association of municipalities (Catalan, Spanish, English, German, French, Italian)
gencat-Turisme (Catalan, Spanish, English, German, French)
Attractions
IDESCAT: statistical information on the comarca