Ebro

The Ebro (Spanish and Basque: [ˈeβɾo] ) or Ebre (Catalan: [ˈeβɾə, ˈeβɾe]) is one of the most important rivers on the Iberian Peninsula. It is the second longest river in the Iberian peninsula after the Tagus and the second biggest both by discharge volume and by drainage area after the Duero. It is also the biggest river by discharge volume in Spain.

The Ebro flows through the following cities: Reinosa in Cantabria; Frías and Miranda de Ebro in Castile and León; Haro, Logroño, Calahorra, and Alfaro in La Rioja; Tudela in Navarre; Alagón, Utebo, Zaragoza, and Caspe in Aragon; and Flix, Móra d'Ebre, Benifallet, Tivenys, Xerta, Aldover, Tortosa, and Amposta in Catalonia.

Geography

The source of the river Ebro is in Fontibre (Cantabria), from the Latin words Fontes Iberis, source of the Ebro. Close by is the big artificial lake "Embalse del Ebro" created by the damming of the river. The upper Ebro rushes through rocky gorges in Burgos Province. Flowing roughly eastwards it begins forming a wider river valley of limestone rocks when it reaches Navarre and La Rioja thanks to many tributaries flowing down from the Iberian System on one side, and the Navarre mountains and the western Pyrenees, on the other. There, the climate (the valley being isolated from sea air masses by surrounding mountains) becomes progressively more continental, with more extreme temperatures and drier characteristics, and therefore typically experiencing hot (sometimes very hot) and dry summers which closely resemble summers seen in arid and semiarid climates.