The Manzanares is a river in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, a right tributary of the Jarama, which in turn is a tributary of the Tagus.
This river, which runs entirely through Madrid, Community of Madrid, Spain, is born in the Guadarrama mountain range (Sistema Central), in the Ventisquero de la Condesa – the southern slope of the Cuerda Larga, near the Bola del Mundo – and passes through the city of Madrid. It flows into the Jarama River, in the municipality of Rivas-Vaciamadrid, after a journey of 92 kilometres.
The river is home to different ecosystems and crosses areas of great environmental value, which have received different levels of protection.
Its upper basin, from its source to the Monte de El Pardo (including La Pedriza), constitutes the Cuenca Alta del Manzanares regional park, with an area of 52,796 hectares. Its lower course is also protected, within the Parque regional del Sureste.
In its urban course, the course of the Manzanares is the result of decades of channelling and damming work, although in 2016 the river level was returned to its original flow near Madrid by opening the regulating gates, which led to an increase in biological diversity in this section.
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