The Cinca (; ; , ) is a
river
A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
in
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...
,
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. Its source is in the Circo de Pineta, in the
Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, in the Aragonese
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...
. It is a tributary to the
Segre River, with its confluence at
La Granja d'Escarp, not far from the point where the Segre flows into the
Ebro River. The Cinca River flows through a rich agricultural region.
Path and tributaries
The Cinca is born in the area of
Pineta and begins its descent between cascades and torrents, in the mountains of the
Tres Sorores. It flows across the entire Pineta valley. In
Bielsa, it joins with the Barrosa, and somewhat later the Cinqueta. Upon reaching
AÃnsa, it is joined on the right side by the
Ara River, where the
Mediano Reservoir is located. Immediately after the Mediano, after crossing the throat of the Entremón, it is again dammed at the
El Grado Reservoir near
El Grado. Just after this, it is joined on the left side by the
Ésera River, the Cinca's most important tributary.
On the right side, it is joined by the
Vero River, and in
Monzón by the
Sosa River on the left. Later, the
Alcanadre pours into it on the right. Finally, in
Massalcoreig, it joins the Segre to flow into the Ebro River.
History
The presence of humans is not found in the upper stretches of the river, but only in the middle stretches, although it is known from ancient accounts.
The migratory villages, in the first
Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
, used the Cinca Valley in their path to the interior; they were populated by the
Ilergetes. The current name of the river comes from Cinga, because
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...
in his account of the civil war, used that name. It underwent a change of name under the Moors because it came to have the name Az-Zaytum, which meant the River of Olives.
See also
*
Cinca Medio
*
Baix Cinca
*
List of rivers of Spain
This is an incomplete list of rivers that are at least partially in Spain. The rivers flowing into the sea are sorted along the coast. Rivers flowing into other rivers are listed by the rivers they flow into. Rivers in the mainland Iberian Peninsu ...
External links
Cinca River - Geography''La Pinzana, Centro de Interpretación del rÃo Cinca'' Cinca River - Hydrology
{{Coord, 42, 3, 13.28, N, 0, 11, 46.82, E, source:cawiki_region:ES_type:river, display=title
Rivers of Spain
Rivers of Aragon