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Spain Drainage
Of the roughly 1,800 rivers and streams in Spain, only
the
Tagus is more than 960 kilometers long; all but 90 extend
less
than 96 kilometers. These shorter rivers carry small
volumes of
water on an irregular basis, and they have seasonally dry
river
beds; however, when they do flow, they often are swift and
torrential. Most major rivers rise in the mountains
rimming or
dissecting the Meseta Central and flow westward across the
plateau through Portugal to empty into the Atlantic Ocean.
One
significant exception is the Rio Ebro, which flows
eastward to
the Mediterranean. Rivers in the extreme northwest and in
the
narrow northern coastal plain drain directly into the
Atlantic
Ocean. The northwestern coastline is also truncated by
rias, waterbodies similar to fjords.
The major rivers flowing westward through the Meseta
Central
include the Rio Duero, the Tagus, the Rio Guadiana, and
the Rio
Guadalquivir. The Rio Guadalquivir is one of the most
significant
rivers in Spain because it irrigates a fertile valley,
thus
creating a rich agricultural area, and because it is
navigable
inland, making Seville the only inland river port for
ocean-going
traffic in Spain. The major river in the northwest region
is the
Rio Mino.
Data as of December 1988
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