The river Guadalmina (from the Arabic for "

Wadi Wadi ( ; ) is a river valley or a wet (ephemerality, ephemeral) Stream bed, riverbed that contains water only when heavy rain occurs. Wadis are located on gently sloping, nearly flat parts of deserts; commonly they begin on the distal portion ...

(river) of the port") is a short coastal river of the Mediterranean basin in southern Spain that runs entirely within the

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

n province of

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

. Only in length, the Guadalmina rises in the Sierra Bermeja, in the municipality of Igualeja, but its main course begins below the mountains in the municipality of

Benahavís Benahavís is a Spanish town (pueblo) and municipality in the province of Malaga. It is a mountain village between Marbella, Estepona, and Ronda, from the coast. On the southern face of La Serranía de Ronda mountain range, Benahavís is o ...

, forming a

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

aquifer in an area known as ''Las Angosturas'' (the narrows). The river flows into the municipality of

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the re ...

near San Pedro de Alcántara, and serves to delimit its border from that of the municipality of

Estepona Estepona () is a town and municipality in the comarca of the Costa del Sol, southern Spain. It is located in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its district covers an area of 137 square kilometers in a fertile ...

. The Guadalmina was formerly of defensive strategic importance for the people of Marbella; its waters also served to power

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

s for grinding grain into flour. The La Concepción reservoir is the primary water source for this municipality; it is formed by a diversion dam on the Río Verde, where the waters of the rivers Guadalmina, Guadalmansa and Guadaiza join and are captured, then transported to provide the water supply of the Costa del Sol towns of Benalmadena,

Fuengirola Fuengirola () is a city on the Costa del Sol in the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It is located on the central coast of the province and integrated into the region of the Costa del Sol and the Com ...

Mijas Mijas ( ; ) is a municipality in the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Located on the southeastern coast of Spain, Mijas belongs to the region of Costa del Sol Occidental. Its center is a typical Andalusian white- ...

, Benahavís, Marbella, Casares and

Manilva Manilva is a municipality which lies on the coast at the southwesternmost edge of the province of Málaga on its border with the Province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia in Spain. It belongs to the comarca of Costa del Sol Occi ...

The lower course of the river is heavily urbanized; many homes there have a high risk of inundation. Near the river's mouth, next to San Pedro de Alcántara, are the important archaeological sites of the early 4th-century Christian church '' Basílica de Vega del Mar'', the 3rd-century vaulted Roman baths of ''Las Bóvedas'' (the Domes) and the eponymous watch tower of ''Torre de Las Bóvedas''.

References

{{Commons category, Guadalmina Rivers of Spain Rivers of Andalusia