The Guadalquivir (Arabic: الوادي الكبير al-wādi al-kabīr, “the big river”), formerly called Betis (Latin: Bætis, Baetis), is a river in Spain, whose course runs through Andalusia.
Since ancient times its source has been located in the Sierra de Cazorla, province of Jaén. Its hydrographic basin covers territories of the provinces of Almería, Jaén, Córdoba, Seville, Huelva, Cádiz, Málaga, Granada, Region of Murcia, Albacete, Ciudad Real and Badajoz. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean in a wide estuary between Almonte (Huelva) and Sanlúcar de Barrameda (province of Cádiz). Between Seville and the estuary is a large wetland, the Guadalquivir marshes; Part of these marshes are within the Doñana National Park.
It is the fifth longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. It is 657 km long, from the Sierra de Cazorla to Sanlúcar. On its route through Andalusia from east to west, it passes through cities such as Andújar, Córdoba and Seville. Since pre-Roman times it was known as Baetis or Betis, and was called Wad al-Kibir by the Arabs from the 11th century onwards.
In Medieval times, the Guadalquivir was navigable for barges from Seville up to Córdoba. In the city, there were piers at the Albolafia mill and near the Martos Mill. The bulky wool transports often left from the Cortijo Rubio pier about 15 km downstream.
The Guadalquivir River Basin occupies an area of 63,085 km2 and has a long history of severe flooding.
During the winter of 2010 heavy rainfall caused severe flooding in rural and agricultural areas in the provinces of Seville, Córdoba and Jaén in the Andalusia region. The accumulated rainfall in the month of February was above 250 mm (10 in), double the precipitation for Spain for that month. In March 2010 several tributaries of the Guadalquivir flooded, causing over 1,500 people to flee their homes as a result of the increased flow of the Guadalquivir, which on 6 March 2010 reached 2,000 m3/s (71,000 cu ft/s) in Córdoba and 2,700 m3/s (95,000 cu ft/s) in Seville. This was below that recorded in Seville in the flood of 1963 when 6,000 m3/s (210,000 cu ft/s) was reached. During August 2010, when flooding occurred in Jaén, Córdoba and Seville, three people died in Córdoba.
See also Pyrenees travel guide
See also France travel guide
See also Andorra travel guide