Natural Resources
The Guadalhorce River basin stretches over 3,177 km2, which is a bit less than half of the surface of the Province of Málaga (7,306 km2). The Guadalhorce is 166 km long and has its source in the Alazores pass in the Province of Granada, even though its sections and springs with the largest flow are in the Town of Villanueva del Trabuco, in the Province of Málaga, where it also becomes the largest river in Málaga.
The Guadalhorce river basin has two parts. Upper basin goes from the river’s source to the reservoirs and the lower basin (where the corridor is) starts in the south of Huma Mountains, after the Gaitanes Gorge, up to the mouth of Guadalhore.
High altitudes and rugged terrain at the lower Guadalhorce basin are in the western area, where the Sierra de Alcaparaín, the Sierra de Aguas and eastern slope of the Sierra de las Nieves are, as well as in the coastal mountains, which is represented by the Canucha Mountains, the Sierra Alpujata and the Sierra de Mijas from west to east.
Large part of the lower Guadalhorce basin belongs to the Guadalhorce Valley. In this area, the terrain is covered in hills and relatively low hillocks. As one goes towards the river’s mouth, the valley becomes wider and the river gets the shape which is typical for rivers in this zones – lots of meanders and river terraces. The largest part of the lower basin, where mostly citrus fruit and olive trees grow, crops spread up to the river bed so the plant life is rather modified and rare.
Close to the river mouth and the coast, the Guadalhorce River forks in two branches and between them the Guadalhorce River Mouth Natural Beauty Spot is placed, a wetland which is curiously belongs to the City of Málaga when most of wetlands form part of farming areas.
Another quality of this nature site is that it is artificial. In the 1960s, La Isla property, which is how the part of the land between the two river branches is called, was covered in crops. In the 1970s, the surface for farming was reduced considerably and the largest part of the surface was destined to dry goods mining for the purpose of building industry. This took to the early 1980’s and the result were series of pools, which got progressively flooded due to the underground water burst.
Next, you can see the list of main natural resources in all the towns along the Guadalhorce Valley Green Corridor:
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