Editing Guadalquivir (section)

==History==

=== Between Seville and Sanlúcar de Barrameda ===
During a significant portion of the [[Holocene]], the western Guadalquivir valley was occupied by an inland sea, the [[Tartessian Gulf]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Abril |first1=José-María |last2=Periáñez |first2=Raúl |last3=Escacena |first3=José-Luis |title=Modeling tides and tsunami propagation in the former Gulf of Tartessos, as a tool for Archaeological Science |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science |date=December 2013 |volume=40 |issue=12 |pages=4499–4508 |doi=10.1016/j.jas.2013.06.030 |bibcode=2013JArSc..40.4499A |hdl=11441/135755 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

The [[Phoenicians]] established the first anchorage grounds and dealt in precious metals. The ancient city of [[Tartessos]] (that gave its name to the Tartessian Civilization) was said to have been located at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, although its site has not yet been found.

The [[Roman Republic|Romans]], whose name for the river was ''Baetis'', settled in [[Hispalis]] ([[Seville]]), in the 2nd century BC, making it into an important river port. By the 1st century BC, Hispalis was a walled city with shipyards building longboats to carry wheat. In the 1st century AD the Hispalis was home to entire naval squadrons. Ships sailed to Rome with various products: minerals, salt, fish, etc. During the Arab rule between 712 and 1248 the Moors built a stone dock and the [[Torre del Oro]] (Tower of Gold), to reinforce the port defences.

In the 13th century Ferdinand III expanded the shipyards and from Seville's busy port, grain, oil, wine, wool, leather, cheese, honey, wax, nuts and dried fruit, salted fish, metal, silk, linen and dye were exported throughout Europe.

Following the discovery of the [[Americas]], Seville became the economic centre of the Spanish Empire, because its port, under the jurisdiction of the [[Casa de Contratación]] (House of Trade), had come to hold the monopoly of the trans-oceanic trade. As early as the Middle Ages navigation of the Guadalquivir River was already becoming increasingly difficult: by the year 1500, a great deal of heavy cargo was being handled farther downstream at the harbor of [[Sanlúcar de Barrameda]], where the Guadalquivir exits into the sea.<ref name=mercaderes /> As a consequence, Seville finally lost its trade monopoly to [[Cádiz]].

During the late 18th century, a long series of works was started to again provide Seville with a good connection to the sea. The construction of the canal known as the [[Corta de Merlina]] in 1794 marked the beginning of the modernisation of the port of Seville. After five years of work (2005–2010), in late November 2010 the new Seville lock designed to regulate tides was finally in operation.

=== Upstream to Córdoba ===
In medieval times, the Guadalquivir was navigable for barges from Seville up to Córdoba. In the city, there were piers at the [[Albolafia|Albolafia mill]] and near the [[Martos Mill]]. The bulky wool transports often left from the Cortijo Rubio pier about 15&nbsp;km downstream.  In medieval times, the river transport between Sevilla and Córdoba was managed by the Barqueros de Córdoba.<ref name=mercaderes>{{citation |year=1996 |last=Otte |first=Enrique |title=Sevilla y sus mercaderes a fines de la Edad Media |publisher=Vicerrectorado de Relaciones Institucionales y Extención Cultural, Fundaión el Monte, Sevilla |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l0nF8mTGEb0C |page=105 |isbn=9788487062957 }}</ref><ref name="puerto">{{cite web|url=https://www.artencordoba.com/blog/cordoba/el-puerto-fluvial-de-cordoba-en-la-edad-media/ |title=El puerto fluvial de Córdoba en la Edad Media |work=Blog cultural Artencórdoba |access-date=15 December 2023}}</ref>

In medieval times, the navigable river gave Córdoba a cost advantage. It had relatively cheap transport to the sea, and thence to the world markets. Main imports like iron and wood, were also cheaper in Córdoba than in cities that lacked aquatic transport. During the 16th century, the silting up of the Guadalquivir became ever more serious and started to halt navigation on the river.<ref name="puerto" /> In 1524 [[Fernán Pérez de Oliva]] made a famous speech about navigation between Sevilla and Córdoba.<ref name=Perez>{{citation |year=1787 |last=Pérez de Oliva |first=Fernán |volume=II |title=Las obras del Maestro Fernan Perez de Oliva |publisher=Benito Cano, Madrid |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MbEGAAAAQAAJ }}</ref>

The use of the river section between Córdoba and Sevilla as a power source, was another reason for the decline of navigation on this section of the river.<ref name="puerto" /> The [[weir]]s that stored water in order to guarantee a steady power supply for water mills, directly hindered navigation. There were openings in the weirs, but their passage caused much damage to the barges.<ref name=Recuerdos>{{citation |year=1855 |last=De Madrazo |first=Pedro |volume=Córdoba |title=Recuerdos y bellezas de España |publisher=Imprenta de Repullés, Madrid |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sxKt5NEzCu8C |page=437 }}</ref> The weirs also led to raising the river bed. Perez de Oliva proposed to build [[lock (water navigation)|locks]] in these weirs as a preliminary measure to restore navigation.<ref name=Perez /><ref>{{citation |year=1826 |last=K |volume=XIX-II |title=De recensent, ook der recensenten |chapter=Redevoering in het jaar 1524 gehouden, door Fernan Perez de Oliva, in den Raad van de stad Cordova |publisher=Van der Hey en Zoon, Amsterdam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MetRAAAAcAAJ |pages=432–450 }}</ref> In the end, the above developments put an end to inland navigation in the area.<ref name="puerto" />

The iconic [[Albolafia]] is a [[hydropower]]ed [[scoop wheel]]. It was originally built by the Romans and lifted water from the river to the nearby [[Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos|Alcázar]] gardens. It was also used to mill flour.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.andalucia.com/cities/cordoba/albolafia.htm |title=Córdoba Molino de Albolafia mill, The city of Córdoba tourist main sights, Andalusia, southern Spain |date=19 October 2011 |publisher=Andalucia.com |access-date=2015-04-05}}</ref>

===Flooding===
[[File:Rio guadalquivir 1892.jpg|thumbnail|1892 flood in Seville]]
The Guadalquivir River Basin occupies an area of 63,085&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> and has a long history of severe flooding.

During the winter of 2010 heavy rainfall caused severe flooding in rural and agricultural areas in the provinces of Seville, Córdoba and Jaén in the Andalusia region. The accumulated rainfall in the month of February was above {{convert|250|mm|0|abbr=on}}, double the precipitation for Spain for that month. In March 2010 several tributaries of the Guadalquivir flooded, causing over 1,500 people to flee their homes as a result of the increased flow of the Guadalquivir, which on 6 March 2010 reached {{convert|2000|m3/s|abbr=on}} in Córdoba and {{convert|2700|m3/s|abbr=on}} in Seville. This was below that recorded in Seville in the flood of 1963 when {{convert|6000|m3/s|abbr=on}}. was reached. During August 2010, when flooding occurred in Jaén, Córdoba and Seville, three people died in Córdoba.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tobaccoirrigation.com/in/mostrartrabajo.php?codigo=576&cat=problemaaguaespana |title=Spain Water Problem: The Guadalquivir river ne |publisher=Tobaccoirrigation.com |access-date=2015-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042847/http://tobaccoirrigation.com/in/mostrartrabajo.php?codigo=576&cat=problemaaguaespana |archive-date=2016-03-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Pollution===
The [[Doñana disaster]], also known as the Aznalcóllar Disaster or Guadiamar Disaster was an industrial accident in Andalusia. In April 1998 a holding dam burst at the Los Frailes mine, near [[Aznalcóllar]], [[Seville Province]], releasing {{convert|4|to|5|e6m3|abbr=off}} of mine tailings. The [[Doñana National Park]] was also affected by this event.