Guadaira
Encyclopedia
The Guadaíra is a river that runs through the province of Seville, in Andalusia
, southern Spain
. Its name contains the same guad root as the much larger Rio Guadalquivir
, coming from the Arabic word wadi, meaning "river valley".
The river runs through the town of Alcalá de Guadaíra
in the Seville
's metropolitan area. The upper river watershed is from the land to the east and south-east of the town, it proceeds through the town and joins the Guadalquivir to the south of Seville. The river has for many years been heavily contaminated with the by-products of olive
processing and other waste being dumped directly into the river.
Large amounts of foam and an unpleasant smell are not uncommon features of the river in the winter. In spite of this the river provides a haven for much wildlife as its banks are well covered with trees and vegetation. On the southern side of the river is a large area of picturesque stone pine woodland, Oromana, and this is a favourite site for weekend and fiesta day outings for both locals and tourists.
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
, southern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Its name contains the same guad root as the much larger Rio Guadalquivir
Guadalquivir
The Guadalquivir is the fifth longest river in the Iberian peninsula and the second longest river to be its whole length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is 657 kilometers long and drains an area of about 58,000 square kilometers...
, coming from the Arabic word wadi, meaning "river valley".
Alcalá de Guadaira
Alcalá de Guadaíra is a town located approximately 10 km southeast of Seville, Spain; in recent years the expansion of Seville has meant that Alcalá has become a suburb of that city. Alcalá used to be known as Alcalá de los Panaderos because it provided most of Seville's bread...
in the Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
's metropolitan area. The upper river watershed is from the land to the east and south-east of the town, it proceeds through the town and joins the Guadalquivir to the south of Seville. The river has for many years been heavily contaminated with the by-products of olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
processing and other waste being dumped directly into the river.
Large amounts of foam and an unpleasant smell are not uncommon features of the river in the winter. In spite of this the river provides a haven for much wildlife as its banks are well covered with trees and vegetation. On the southern side of the river is a large area of picturesque stone pine woodland, Oromana, and this is a favourite site for weekend and fiesta day outings for both locals and tourists.