The Tajuña is a river in central 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...

, flowing through the provinces of Guadalajara

Guadalajara (province)

Guadalajara is a province of central/north-central Spain, in the northern part of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. It is bordered by the provinces of Cuenca, Madrid, Segovia, Soria, Zaragoza, and Teruel...

 and Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

. It is a tributary of the river Jarama

Jarama

Jarama is a river in central Spain. It flows north to south, and passes east of Madrid when El Atazar Dam is built on a tributary, the Lozoya River. It flows into the river Tagus in Aranjuez...

 which in turn is a tributary of the Tagus

Tagus

The Tagus is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula. It is long, in Spain, along the border between Portugal and Spain and in Portugal, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Lisbon. It drains an area of . The Tagus is highly utilized for most of its course...

. It rises in the Sierra de Solorio, near the town of Maranchón

Maranchón

Maranchón is a municipality located in the province of Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 244 inhabitants....

 (Guadalajara), at a location known as Fuente del Carro near the village of Clares.

Near its source it flows through a landscape of high altitude moor

Moor

-Ethnicity:*Moors, several historic and modern populations from North Africa*Sri Lankan Moor, a minority ethnic group of Sri Lanka*Marakkar, a Muslim minority ethnic group of India-Places:...

lands, through deep valleys of Miocene era limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

, characterised by clay

Clay

Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...

s, marl

Marl

Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...

s and dolomitic limestone

Dolostone

Dolostone or dolomite rock is a sedimentary carbonate rock that contains a high percentage of the mineral dolomite. In old U.S.G.S. publications it was referred to as magnesian limestone. Most dolostone formed as a magnesium replacement of limestone or lime mud prior to lithification. It is...

. It has one reservoir

Reservoir

A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...

, La Tajera, with an extension of 409 ha near Cifuentes

Cifuentes

Cifuentes may refer to:*Cifuentes, Guadalajara, a municipality in Guadalajara, Spain*Cifuentes, Cuba, a municipality in Villa Clara, Cuba People with the surname Cifuentes:...

. It crosses the villages of Luzón

Luzon

Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...

, Anguita

Anguita

Anguita is a municipality located in the province of Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. , the municipality has a population of 203 inhabitants.It is situated on the river Tajuña and its tributaries, La Madre and creek Prado...

, Luzaga

Luzaga

Luzaga is a village and municipality in the province of Guadalajara, Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. Luzaga's Bronze, the most significant known example of Celtiberian script, was found here.-External links:*...

, Cortes de Tajuña, Brihuega

Brihuega

Brihuega is a municipality located in the province of Guadalajara, Spain. According to the 2007 census , the municipality has a population of 2,835 inhabitants....

 and Renera

Renera

Renera is a municipality located in the province of Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 61 inhabitants....

 in Guadalajara province and enters Madrid province at Ambite

Ambite

Ambite is a municipality in the province of Madrid, Spain. It has 382 inhabitants in an area of , with a population density of 14.69 hab/km². It lies above sea level....

; it then passes close to Orusco, Carabaña

Carabaña

Carabaña is a small municipality in the Community of Madrid . It is located 50 km from Madrid close to the Autovía A-3, the main highway to Valencia, on the banks of the Tajuña River at a height of 625 m above sea level...

, Tielmes

Tielmes

Tielmes is a municipality of the Community of Madrid, Spain....

, Perales de Tajuña

Perales de Tajuña

Perales de Tajuña is a small town in Spain, in the province and autonomous community of Madrid, located about 40 km to the southeast of Madrid in the area known as the Comarca de Las Vegas. The municipality covers 48.92 km², has a population of 2,738 inhabitants and a population density of...

 and Morata de Tajuña

Morata de Tajuña

Morata de Tajuña is a municipality of the Community of Madrid, Spain....

, before joining the Jarama near Titulcia

Titulcia

' is a municipality of the Community of Madrid, Spain.Of supposedly Roman origin, Titulcia is situated on the ancient military road from Emerita Augusta and Cesaraugusta ' is a municipality of the Community of Madrid, Spain.Of supposedly Roman origin, Titulcia is situated on the ancient military...

.

Climate

The climate in the river basin is Mediterranean, getting more arid closer to the Jarama. Rainfall is more frequent autumn/winter.

Morphology

Being an internal river, its tributaries in the province of Guadalajara are seasonal streams which only contain water in spring. The Tajuña gets its water from springs and from the Calizas del Páramo de la Alcarria aquifer which covers 1,800 km² at a depth of 30–40 m.