The rivers of Spain

The Guadalquivir

The Guadalquivir is one of the longest rivers in Spain. It starts in the mountains of Jaén and flows west for 657 kilometres. It passes through Córdoba and Seville and Huelva. Finally, it flows through the Gulf of Cádiz into the Atlantic Ocean.

The river's name has changed many times. The Romans called it Baetis. The current name, Guadalquivir, comes from the Arabic Wadi Al Kabir, which means 'great river'.

After the discovery of America, ships carried goods from the New World to Seville along the river. Today, ships still travel up the river to Seville.

The Guadalquivir river basin flows through Doñana National Park where there are lots of different plants and wild animals. Half of Europe's plant species live in this river basin.

Read and understand

Name some places the Guadalquivir flows through.

Why do you think it is called the 'great river' in Arabic?

Which ocean does the Guadalquivir flow into?

Do you know any animals and plants typical of Doñana National Park?

Name some other major Spanish rivers.

SPEAKING. Discuss with your partner the rivers in your region. Can you find them on a map? Why are they important? What are they used for? What animals and plants are found there?

What do you remember?

Water on Earth

On our planet there is water in the seas, in rivers, in lakes, in lagoons and in reservoirs. There is also underground water.

Look at the picture. Say the different places where water is found.

Rivers

Rivers are continuous bodies of water that usually start in the mountains.

Look at the picture. Find the different parts of the river.

imagen

1. Rivers

Characteristics of rivers

The course of a river is the route of the river from its source to its mouth.

At the mouth, the river can form an estuary or a delta.

An estuary is where fresh water from the river mixes with seawater from the sea.
A delta is where materials carried by the river are deposited at the mouth. This forms a triangular-shaped piece of land.
The flow is the amount of water a river carries.
The flow regime is the variation in the flow of a river throughout the year. A river has a regular flow regime when it carries a similar amount of water all year round. A river has an irregular flow regime when it carries a lot of water at some times of the year and not much water at other times.

Influence of relief and climate

Relief affects the length of rivers. Rivers are short when they rise in mountains near the sea. Rivers are long when they rise a long way from the sea which they flow into. River water flows faster when the land is very steep.

Climate affects the flow and flow regime of rivers. Rivers in wet climates have an abundant flow and a regular regime. Rivers in drier climates have an irregular flow regime.

The influence of relief and climate on rivers.

The watersheds of Spain

The map is divided into three colours. Each colour represents a different watershed. A watershed is an area where all the rivers and streams flow into the same sea.

The rivers which flow directly into the sea, for example the Ebro, are the main rivers. Rivers which flow into other rivers are called tributaries.

There are three watersheds in Spain. The Atlantic watershed is in the west. The Cantabrian watershed is in the north. The Mediterranean watershed is in the east and south.