Jiloca

Historia

The Jiloca is a river in Aragón, Spain, a tributary of the river Jalón, and part of the watershed of the Ebro basin. The course of the river runs through the provinces of Teruel and Zaragoza. It has a length of 126km and an average flow rate of 2.1m3/s, although this varies between the seasons. The river flows in a generally north easterly direction from its source near Monreal del Campo.The valley was an historic route between the Meseta Central and the Mediterranean coast. Roman bridges remain in many pueblos and remains of watermills can be seen. The water is generally of good quality and supports a range of wildlife. Cleaning works by the regional government have been criticised by environmental organisations who claim that the ecology has been damaged. The watershed covers an area of 2957km2.CourseThe source is disputed, tradition holds that it rises at an artesian well, the Fuente de Cella, at the base of the Sierra Albarracín in Teruel province. The well is surrounded by an elliptical parapet wall built by the Italian engineer Domingo Ferrari. It is now thought that the stretch of river between Cella and Monreal del Campo is the remains of an 18th-century canal which was cut to drain the Laguna Cañizar at Villarquemado. It is currently accepted that the Jiloca raises at the Ojos (Eyes) of Monreal, 2km from the town. These are a series of ponds linked by channels. From Monreal the river flows northwards and near Luco de Jiloca (Calamocha), the Jiloca is joined by its only tributary, the Pancrudo, which rises 46km away in the Sierra de la Costera. From this point there is an irrigation channel which waters a small valley near Daroca.