Baix Camp () is a

comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...

located in the region of

Camp de Tarragona Camp de Tarragona () is a Natural region, natural and historical region, as well as one of the nine Vegueries of Catalonia, regions (''vegueries'') of Catalonia. It is the third most populated region, with 536,453 inhabitants as of 2022. The re ...

, in

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

.The capital is the city of

Reus Reus () is the capital of Baix Camp, in Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The area has long been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental significance during the time of the Phylloxera plague. Currently it is known f ...

. Baix Camp is located on the

coast A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

, between Tarragonès to the northeast and

Baix Ebre Baix Ebre (, "Lower Ebro") is a comarca (county) on the coast in southern Catalonia. It is located in the region of Terres de l'Ebre Terres de l'Ebre (, in English 'Ebro, Ebre Lands') is the south-westernmost of the eight regions (Vegueria, ''v ...

to the south. It also borders the comarques of

Priorat Priorat () is a comarca (county) in Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The region is named due to the monastery of Scala Dei which held many properties and the capital is now the town of Falset. Economy The central part of the comarca, ''Pr ...

Ribera d'Ebre Ribera d'Ebre () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. It extends to both sides of the Ebre river between the reservoir of Riba-roja and Miravet. It belongs to the Terres de l'Ebre Terres de l'Ebre (, in English 'Ebro, Ebre Lands') is t ...

Conca de Barberà Conca de Barberà () is a comarca (county) in the region of Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. Its total area is , and its capital is Montblanc. At its creation in 1936, it contained 23 municipalities, but in 1990, several of these were amal ...

, Alt Camp, and Tarragonès.

Population

Almost 150,000 people inhabit Baix Camp. The population has increased gently since the middle of the twentieth century, with population growth averaging 1.5% annually during the last three decades. Growth is not evenly distributed, however, but is strongly focused on

, the industrial and commercial centre of the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

. Around two-thirds of the inhabitants of Baix Camp live in Reus, which from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries was the second most populous city in

, after

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. Taking Catalonia as a whole, the place of Reus in the population rankings has now slipped to tenth. Within Baix Camp, the only other municipality with more than 10,000 inhabitants is

Cambrils Cambrils () is a coastal town in the comarca of Baix Camp, province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The town is near the tourist town Salou and is frequently visited by those travelling by air using Reus Airport. History Roman Empire to Middl ...

Economy

In the agricultural sector

almonds The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera by corrugations on the sh ...

and

hazelnuts The hazelnut is the nut (fruit), fruit of the hazel, hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus ''Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or fil ...

are a major crops, together representing 30% of

primary sector The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining. The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy in d ...

production.

Viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

has never regained the level of dominance that it enjoyed before the European

Phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belongs to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs); orig ...

epidemic that peaked in the 1870s. High dependency on

and

nevertheless leaves the entire regional economy vulnerable to declining world market prices that have accompanied increased globalization of the agricultural sector. Some price protection is afforded to growers by protected designation for "Hazelnuts from Reus" which actually covers not just production from Reus but also that from neighboring Alt Camp, Tarragonès, Priorat, Conca de Barberà and Terra Alta.

Municipalities

After the capital

, the major cities are

and Mont-roig del Camp; other significant towns are Riudoms and Selva del Camp. Smaller municipalities: * North of Reus, at the foot of Puig d'en Cama: Castellvell del Camp and Almoster. * In the Mountains of Prades: Prades, Capafonts, Arbolí, and

l'Albiol L'Albiol () is a municipality in the '' comarca'' of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Au ...

. * In the valley of the river Maspujols:

Vilaplana Vilaplana () is a municipality in the ''Catalonia/Comarques, comarca'' of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The Serra de la Mussara, a subrange of the Prades Mountains rises north of the town. This mountain range is named ...

l'Aleixar L'Aleixar () is a municipality in the '' comarca'' of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The Serra de la Mussara, a subrange of the Prades Mountains rises north of the town. The church is dedicated to Saint Martin. ...

, and Maspujols. * In the valley of the river Alforja: Alforja, les Borges del Camp, and Vinyols i els Arcs. * Between the ranges of Puig Marí and Puig-server:

Riudecols Riudecols () is a village in the Provinces of Spain, province of Province of Tarragona, Tarragona and autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. References External links Government data pages
Municipalities in Baix Camp {{Tarragona- ...

. * In the valley of the ravine of Ànima Blanca: Montbrió del Camp, and Botarell. * Near Mont-roig del Camp: Vilanova d'Escornalbou, Colldejou, and la Torre de Fontaubella * At the western edge of the comarca: Pratdip and the municipality of

Vandellòs i l'Hospitalet de l'Infant Vandellòs i l'Hospitalet de l'Infant () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'' of the Baix Camp in Catalonia, Spain. It has a population of . It is situated in the south-west of the ''comarca'', b ...

List of municipalities

References

External links

Official comarcal web site (in Catalan)
{{Comarques of Catalonia Comarques of the Province of Tarragona