Guadalete

Guadalete River in El Puerto de Santa Maria

The Guadalete River is located in the Spanish province of Cádiz, rising in the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park at an elevation of about 1,000 metres (3,300 ft),^[1] and running for 172 kilometres (107 mi) into the Bay of Cádiz at El Puerto de Santa Maria, south of the city of Cádiz. The river's name came from the Arabic phrase meaning "River of Forgetfulness".

River flow

Along the way, it flows by some of "White Towns" of Andalusia, such as Arcos de la Frontera. The "Sierra Greenway", a 36-kilometre (22 mi) bicycle path reclaimed from an abandoned railroad line, also passes along the river.

It receives water from Majaceite river.^[2] It is the largest river in Andalusia, and it has several man-made lakes controlling its stream.^[3]

Historic importance

The river was once the frontier between Christian and Moorish Iberia, receiving the sobriquet Río de los Muertos (river of the dead).

The river may have been the location of the Battle of Guadalete, at which the Visigothic army was defeated by an invading Muslim army, leading to the conquest of Iberia by the Umayyad Caliphate.

Vía Verde de la Sierra next to Guadalete

See also

• List of rivers of Spain
• San Pedro River, Cádiz

References

1. Rutas Rurales en Cádiz at hotelesandalucia.es (Spanish)
2. El río Guadalete at riosycuencas.com (Spanish)
3. Embalse de Zahara at Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir (Spanish)

External links

Coordinates: 36°45′08″N 05°47′36″W / 36.75222°N 5.79333°W