Editing Guadalquivir

{{short description|River in Spain}}
{{For|the river in Bolivia|Guadalquivir River (Bolivia)}}
{{Infobox river
| name               = Guadalquivir
| native_name        =
| native_name_lang   =
| name_other         =
| name_etymology     = from {{lang|ar|الوادي الكبير}} ({{italics correction|''al-wādī l-kabīr''}}), "the great valley" or "the great river" in [[Arabic]]
<!---------------------- IMAGE & MAP -->
| image              = Guadalquivir1.jpg
| image_size         =
| image_caption      = The Guadalquivir passing near [[Almodóvar del Río]]
| map                = Guadalquivir.png
| map_size           = 280px
| map_caption        = Location of the Guadalquivir
| pushpin_map        =
| pushpin_map_size   =
| pushpin_map_caption=
<!---------------------- LOCATION -->
| subdivision_type1  = Country
| subdivision_name1  = [[Spain]]
| subdivision_type2  = Region
| subdivision_name2  = [[Andalusia]]
| subdivision_type3  =
| subdivision_name3  =
| subdivision_type4  =
| subdivision_name4  =
| subdivision_type5  = Cities
| subdivision_name5  = [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]], [[Seville]]
<!---------------------- PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS -->
| length             = {{convert|657|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| width_min          =
| width_avg          =
| width_max          =
| depth_min          =
| depth_avg          =
| depth_max          =
| discharge1_location= [[Sanlúcar de Barrameda]]
| discharge1_min     =
| discharge1_avg     = {{convert|164.3|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}
| discharge1_max     =
<!---------------------- BASIN FEATURES -->
| source1            = Cañada de las Fuentes, [[Sierra de Cazorla]]
| source1_location   = [[Quesada, Spain|Quesada]], Andalusia
| source1_coordinates= {{Coord|37.839|-2.974|format=dms|display=i}}
| source1_elevation  = {{convert|1350|m|abbr=on}}
| mouth              = [[Gulf of Cádiz]], [[Atlantic Ocean]]
| mouth_location     = [[Sanlúcar de Barrameda]], Andalusia
| mouth_coordinates  = {{coord|36|47|N|6|21|W|display=inline,title}}
| mouth_elevation    = {{convert|0|m|abbr=on}}
| progression        =
| river_system       =
| basin_size         = {{convert|56978|km2|abbr=on}}
| tributaries_left   = [[Guadiana Menor]], [[Guadalbullón]], [[Guadajoz]], [[Genil]], [[Corbones]], [[Guadaira]]
| tributaries_right  = [[Guadalimar]], [[Jándula]], [[Yeguas]], [[Guadalmellato]], [[Guadiato]], [[Bembézar]], [[Viar River|Viar]], [[Rivera de Huelva]], [[Guadiamar]]
| custom_label       =
| custom_data        =
| extra              =
}}
The '''Guadalquivir''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|ɡ|w|ɑː|d|əl|k|ɪ|ˈ|v|ɪər}}, <small>also</small> {{IPAc-en|UK|-|k|w|ɪ|ˈ|-}}, {{IPAc-en|US|-|k|iː|ˈ|-|,_|ˌ|ɡ|w|ɑː|d|əl|ˈ|k|w|ɪ|v|ər}},<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/guadalquivir|title=Guadalquivir|work=[[Collins English Dictionary]]|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190530113752/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/Guadalquivir "Guadalquivir"] (US) and {{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Guadalquivir |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801054506/https://www.lexico.com/definition/guadalquivir |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-08-01 |title=Guadalquivir |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|Guadalquivir|access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref> {{IPA|es|ɡwaðalkiˈβiɾ|lang}}) is the fifth-longest [[river]] in the [[Iberian Peninsula]] and the second-longest river with its entire length in [[Spain]]. The Guadalquivir is the only major [[navigability|navigable]] river in Spain. Currently it is navigable from [[Seville]] to the [[Gulf of Cádiz]], but in [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] times it was navigable from [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]].

== Geography ==
{{Expand section|date=December 2023}}
[[File:J23 326 Nacimiento del Guadalquivir.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|Birth of the Guadalquivir]]
The river is {{convert|657|km|abbr=on}} long and drains an area of about {{convert|58000|km2|abbr=on}}. It flows through Córdoba and Seville and reaches the sea at [[Sanlúcar de Barrameda]], flowing into the Gulf of Cádiz in the [[Atlantic Ocean]].

=== Course ===
The course of the Guadalquivir is divided into three parts. This division is based on the main course of the river and its confluence with other rivers.<ref name=Demarcación>{{citation |year=2015 |title=Anejo Nº2. Descripción General de la Demarcación, Demarcación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir  |publisher=Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir |url=https://www.chguadalquivir.es/descargas/PlanHidrologico2015-2021/Planes_2DO_Ciclo/Guadalquivir/ANEJO_N2_DESCRIPCION_GENERAL_DE_LA_DEMARCACION.pdf |page=12 }}</ref>

The Guadalquivir originates at an elevation of about 1,350 meters above sea level in a place known as Cañada de las Fuentes,<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://sea-entomologia.org/Publicaciones/PDF/BOLN45/549_552BSEA45NBOdonatofaunaCazorla.pdf|first=José|last=Lara Ruiz|title=Odonatos del Parque Natural de Cazorla-Segura-las Villas (Jaén, SE de España) (Insecta: Odonata)|journal=Boletín Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa|issue=45|year=2009|page=549}}</ref> in the [[Sierra de Cazorla]] mountain range. The upper course of the river runs from the source of the Guadalquivir roughly to [[Mengíbar]]. It includes its junction with the [[Guadalimar]], just east of Mengíbar.<ref name=Demarcación />

The middle course {{lang|es|curso medio}} starts near Mengíbar and ends near [[Palma del Río]]. It includes the river's confluence with the [[Guadiana Menor]] and the [[Genil]].<ref name=Demarcación /> The latter confluence is located between Palma del Río and [[Peñaflor, Spain|Peñaflor]].

The lower course of the Guadalquivir runs from Palma del Río to the sea.<ref>{{citation |last1=Costa |first1=S. |last2=Gutiérrez Mas |first2=J.M. |last3=Morales |first3=J.A. |year=2009 |journal=Revista de la Sociedad Geológica de España |title=Establecimiento del Régimen de Flujo en el Estuario del Guadalquivir, mediante... |publisher=Sociedad Geológica de España |url=https://sge.usal.es/archivos/REV/22(1-2)/art03.pdf |page=25 }}</ref> On its lower course, the Guadalquivir is joined by the river [[Corbonés]] and (from the north west) by the [[Rivera de Huelva]].<ref name=Demarcación /> The [[marsh]]y lowlands at the river's mouth are known as "[[Las Marismas]]". Here, the river borders the [[Doñana National Park]] reserve.

== Name ==

The modern name of Guadalquivir comes from the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] ''al-[[wādī]] l-kabīr'' ({{lang|ar|اَلْوَادِي&nbsp;الْكَبِيرْ}}), meaning "the great river".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mGbnCmzDJAIC&pg=PA237|title=Materiales para el estudio de la toponimia hispanoárabe: nómina fluvial|volume=1|first=Elías|last=Terés Sádaba|pages=236–237|location=Madrid|year=1986|publisher=[[Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas]]. Instituto de Filología|isbn=84-00-06277-9|quote=El ''Glossarium'' editado por Seybold recoge ''wādī'' y ''wād'' bajo las acepciones of 'amnis', 'flumen' 'flubius', 'riuus' [...] Guadalquivir: ''al-Wādī-l-kabīr'' 'el Río grande'.}}</ref><ref name="JayyusiMarín1992">{{cite book|author=Rafael Valencia|editor=Salma Khadra Jayyusi |editor2=Manuela Marín|title=The Legacy of Muslim Spain|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cbfORLWv1HkC&pg=PA136|year=1992|publisher=Brill|isbn=90-04-09599-3|page=136|chapter=Islamic Seville: Its Political, Social and Cultural History}}</ref><ref name="NunStewart2014">{{cite book|author=Eric Ziolkowski|editor1=Jon Stewart |editor2=Katalin Nun|title=Volume 16, Tome I: Kierkegaard's Literary Figures and Motifs: Agamemnon to Guadalquivir|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YuRIBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA280|volume=16|date=28 October 2014|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-1-4724-4136-2|page=280|chapter=Kierkegaard's Subterranean Fluvial Pseudonymity}}</ref>

There were a variety of names for the Guadalquivir in Classical and pre-Classical times. According to [[Titus Livius]] (Livy), ''The History of Rome'', Book 28, the native people of [[Tartessians]] or [[Turdetani]]ans called the river by two names: ''Certis'' ''(Kertis)'' and ''Rherkēs'' ({{lang|grc|Ῥέρκης}}).<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0064:entry=baetis-geo |author=Smith, William |title=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography |publisher=Perseus Digital Library |chapter=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), BAETIS |url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref> Greek geographers sometimes called it "the river of [[Tartessos]]", after the city of that name. The Romans called it by the name {{lang|la|Baetis}} (which was the basis for name of the province of [[Hispania Baetica]]).

==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.

==Dams and bridges==
[[File:Centro Histórico, 16.9 -- 2023 -- Córdoba, España.jpg|thumb|Views of the [[historic centre of Córdoba]] from the Guadalquivir River.]]
Of the numerous bridges spanning the Guadalquivir, one of the oldest is the [[Roman bridge of Córdoba]]. Significant bridges at Seville include the [[Puente del Alamillo]] (1992), [[Puente de Isabel II]] or Puente de Triana (1852), and [[Puente del Centenario]] (completed in 1992).<ref name="Alemán2010">{{cite book|author=José Luis Munuera Alemán|title=Casos de éxito de las empresas murcianas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2qfrDaiacs0C&pg=PA116|year=2010|publisher=ESIC Editorial|isbn=978-84-7356-670-4|page=116}}</ref>

The [[El Tranco de Beas Dam]] at the head of the river was built between 1929 and 1944 as a [[hydroelectricity]] project of the [[Franco regime]].
[[Doña Aldonza Dam]] is located in the Guadalquivir riverbed, in the Andalusian municipalities of [[Úbeda]], [[Peal de Becerro]] and [[Torreperogil]] in the [[Province of Jaén (Spain)|province of Jaén]].

==Ports==
[[File:Puentes de Sevilla.png|thumbnail|left|Map of Port of Seville showing existing (dark green) and abandoned river divisions (pale green)]]
The [[Port of Seville]] is the main port on the Guadalquivir River. The Port Authority of Seville is responsible for developing, managing, operating, and marketing the Port of Seville.

The entrance to the Port of Seville is protected by a lock that regulates the water level, making the port free of tidal influences. The Port of Seville has over {{convert|2700|m|abbr=on}} of berths for public use and {{convert|1100|m|abbr=on}} of private berths. These docks and berths are used for solid and liquid bulk cargoes, roll-on/roll-off cargoes, containers, private vessels and cruise ships.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |title=Port of Seville |url=http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/commerce/ESP_Port_of_Seville_1206.php |website=World Port Source }}</ref>

In 2001, the Port of Seville handled almost {{convert|4.9|e6t|e6ST|abbr=off}} of cargo, including {{convert|3.0|e6t|e6ST|abbr=off}} of solid bulk, {{convert|1.6|e6t|e6ST|abbr=off}} of general cargo, and over {{convert|264000|t|ST|abbr=off}} of liquid bulk. Almost 1,500 vessels brought cargo into the port, including more than 101,000 [[Twenty-foot equivalent unit|TEUs]] of [[containerized cargo]].<ref name="autogenerated1"/>

== See also ==
* [[List of rivers of Spain]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050319232918/http://www.grid.unep.ch/product/publication/freshwater_europe/guadalquivir.php More information from the United Nations Environmental Program.]
* [http://losmisteriosdesevilla.wordpress.com/evolucion-del-puerto-de-sevilla/ Evolution of the Port of Seville.]

{{Rowing World Championship Venues}}
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[[Category:Guadalquivir| ]]
[[Category:Rivers of Spain]]