The World river it is the most important tributary of the river Segura. Located in the southeast of Spain, it runs in an environment of great beauty, with impressive waterfalls located on a mountain that dominates the plain of the province of Albacete in the Autonomous Community of Castilla-La Mancha.
It is considered one of the most beautiful river sources in the world, a title that places it among the favorite destinations of tourists, especially those fans of mountain biking and hiking..
It is part of the Segura river basin, which it feeds with its waters as its main tributary, contributing approximately 174 hm3, more water than the receiving riverbed.
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The Mundo river runs through the Spanish province of Albacete from its source to its mouth. There are records of human settlements in the territory of the province dating from the 6th century BC. C. with the presence of pre-Roman Iberian peoples.
In the province monuments are erected that have survived to the present day and confirm the presence of Roman civilization in areas near the capital dating from around the 1st century AD. C.
Data on the founding of the capital Albacete are known thanks to the discovery of ceramic remains that confirm its foundation towards the 9th century, during the Muslim rule of the peninsula..
Very close to Chinchilla de Montearagón, a city on which it depended during the Middle Ages, it was founded as a farmhouse, a rural community dedicated to livestock and agriculture that proliferate around the largest cities. It is recognized as the Muslim version of the Roman villa, since it also fulfilled exploration functions.
From 1146 AD The province of Albacete was claimed and retaken from Muslim rule, first by the Kingdom of Castile and then by an alliance between it and the Kingdom of Aragon. During the War of the Castilian Succession, the city remained faithful to Isabel de Castilla.
In the Spanish War of Independence, the province was sacked on several occasions by troops from Napoleon's army in search of resources to continue with the offensives on the territory..
After centuries of turmoil, with the Mundo River as a witness, the province saw the end of its warlike events during the Spanish Civil War. The republican side installed in the city the Headquarters of the International Brigades to take advantage of its privileged position on the plain that surrounds it. This position was bombarded by the nationalist faction, destroying many of the ancient monuments that were erected in the city..
The Mundo river is born in the Sierra de Alcaraz, in the territory of the Calares del Mundo and La Sima Natural Park, between the Vianos and Riópar municipalities of the province of Albacete.
Its source is located specifically in the Calar del Mundo, gushing through the Cueva de los Chorros when its well overflows in a spectacular drop of 100 meters at 1,741 meters above sea level..
After a journey of 150 km, the Mundo river flows into the Segura river through the Camarillas reservoir.
The Mundo river is located south of Albacete and its basin marks the passage from the mountain range to the plain. It flows from west to east through a set of elevations and depressions with frequent presence of waterfalls.
Its basin bathes approximately 2,400 kmtwo between Alcaraz, Ayna, Bogarra, Hellín, Jumilla, Liétor, Molinicos, Paterna del Madera, Peñascosa, Tobarra and Vianos, municipalities of Albacete in the Autonomous Community of Castilla-La Mancha.
To the municipality of Liétor, the Mundo river flows through gorges dug in the limestone and runs through ravines and secondary boulevards.
In this section there are also valleys and plateaus formed by the chemical wear generated by the water on the surface. Here it also runs on flatter terrain with slight undulations until it reaches its mouth in the Segura river..
The Mundo river receives the waters of rivers, springs, fountains and streams on both banks, in addition to the torrents and channels that are filled irregularly by the effect of rain.
Among its most important tributaries are the La Vega river, the Molino stream, the Factories stream, the Dogger spring, the San Agustín spring, the Celada stream, the Plata spring, the Quejigal stream, the Alejos spring, the river de los Vadillos, Bogarra River and Ayna Fountain.
The Calares del Mundo y de la Sima Natural Park is an oasis in the south of the province of Albacete.
Geologically, the Sierra de Segura is made up mostly of clays, limestones and marl. It presents important variations in altitude that go from 1,800 masl to 300 masl. This mountainous barrier of an incredible vegetal variety contrasts with the fields planted with cereals in its surroundings..
The Mundo river is born in a cave generated by karst modeling. This process consists of the chemical weathering of limestone rocks by the action of water. In the case of Cueva de los Chorros, the water seeps through cracks in the rock that began to originate in the Pleistocene. The water dissolves the rock giving rise to galleries. The accumulation of these seeps gives life to the Mundo River with an estimated flow of 750 m3/ s.
2 million years ago, small drops of water began to filter through cracks in the plateau that today we know as Sierra de Segura and with their unstoppable action they have formed an impressive underground system of galleries, lakes and siphons. Its explored area is more than 32 km and it is estimated that it descends more than 60 km towards the interior of the earth..
In 2007, caving experts managed to explore and topography a new cavity that connects it with the Cueva de los Chorros. The importance of this discovery is not only speleological but also biological, since fossils of mammals that were not known in the area and an aquatic invertebrate that had not been classified have been found in its galleries..
Special permits granted by the Delegation of Agriculture and credentials that prove the necessary capacities to access the cave are required. Due to its labyrinthine nature and the danger of flooding, its access is prohibited to the general public.
Between November and March, a unique phenomenon occurs in caves of karst origin, called 'blowout'. This event is characterized by the sudden increase in the flow of the Mundo river right at its source, creating an outlet effect at water pressure as if it were a pipe mouth.
Scientists speculate that it occurs as a result of heavy rain and snowmelt, but its specific cause is unknown. Witnessing the blowout is a gift for visitors as it manifests itself randomly and there is no way to predict its occurrence.
The Mundo river basin has a temperate Mediterranean climate. The temperature varies depending on the altitude: it goes from 12 ° C in the mountains of its headwaters, to 16 ° C in the plains.
Rainfall is also variable, the headwaters are more humid, presenting up to 600 mm per year, while the lower areas only in exceptional cases exceed 300 mm in the same period. The rains are most abundant between November and December. Summers are hot and dry.
The agricultural dedication of the lands surrounding the Mundo river basin made it necessary to build reservoirs to manage its channel in dry periods and prevent flooding in the rainy season..
Around 1888, the need to install a reservoir in the Liétor municipality was raised for the first time to manage the water from the Mundo River for agricultural purposes. Its construction began in 1896 on the river bed and was completed in 1918, although then some potholes had to be bridged.
An inspection carried out in September 1901 revealed that the terrain on which the foundations of the dam were being placed had become unstable due to changes that had occurred in the basin and in the walls of the gorge on which they were intended to rest..
In 1907, after exhaustive studies of the areas available for its installation, the project was presented, which was carried out until its completion in 1918..
Between 1931 and 1942 a power plant was built that was fed from the dam to supply a local network, currently the plant is disconnected from the network and only supplies energy to the reservoir.
It is located in the Hellín municipality in the ravine known as Los Almandenes, near the confluence of the Mundo River with the Segura River. His approach responded to the need to complement the administration of the water resource that was carried out in the Talave reservoir, since it was overcome by the great channel of the Mundo river..
Its execution is divided into two parts: the first period runs from 1932 to 1935. At this stage the service buildings, tunnels, a section of the reservoir wall and its exits were built. In 1953, after the end of the Spanish Civil War, work was resumed in a second period that lasted until 1961, when its construction was completed..
The main economic activities in the province of Albacete are agriculture, livestock and forestry. These are joined by a thriving tourism sector that takes advantage of the historical, cultural and natural wealth of the region..
Among the most important crops are cereals, legumes, potatoes, vegetables, forage, vines and olives. Livestock activity in the region is concentrated in sheep, cattle, sows and goats. Among the timber trees for logging are Aleppo pine, black pine and black pine.
Along with the natural resources that are displayed in its landscapes, the province of Albacete, where the Mundo River basin is located, has an enormous cultural wealth that is being used with tourism.
Among the archaeological resources, the cave paintings dating from the Paleolithic, considered a World Heritage Site, as well as the ruins of prehistoric settlements stand out. Architectural resources of a military and religious nature are also found in the area. Among the military, the fortresses and castles built during the Muslim occupation stand out..
Likewise, churches and chapels of great beauty are exhibited in the province that stand out for their architecture and the art that adorns them, among them the Church of the Assumption, the Church of San Sebastián and the Church of the Holy Spirit..
In Albacete there are relics of the industrial history of Spain, the first brass factory in the country founded in 1772 with the exploitation of the San Jorge calamine deposit. Currently, the factory buildings were transformed into a museum open to the public.
It is one of the activities in the region that most attracts national and international tourists. There are routes adapted to all audiences with excellent logistics conditions that lead to viewpoints and areas of great beauty, where you can enjoy the advance of the Mundo River in all its splendor.
The parking lots lead to different distances from Calar del Mundo for visitors to adjust their route taking into account the kilometers they want to explore, the difficulty of the sections and the points they want to visit..
The authorities of the Calares del Mundo and La Sima Natural Park maintain the trails very well marked to facilitate exploration and prevent inexperienced explorers from getting lost on the routes..
In Calar del Mundo, high-level hiking competitions are held, organized by civil associations with the support of the local government. One of the most prestigious competitions is the Calar de Río Mundo Challenge.
This competition covers the most important points of the Calar on routes that go from 25 km, designed for athletes who are new to mountain hiking; up to 105 km where the best prepared and most experienced athletes are measured in a test that demands high levels of physical and mental demand.
Some of the points that are covered in this challenge are the peaks of Padrón and La Sarga, Ojo del Lobo, the Ascent to the Almenara, the Cerro de la Muerte, Almenarilla and Padroncillo..
Specialists affirm that water management in the Segura basin (of which the Mundo River basin is part) is deficient and is characterized by a general lack of control.
On the one hand, the overexploitation of water resources for agricultural, industrial and urban use influences it. Excessive consumption hardly allows the minimum levels of ecological preservation of the basin and a constant pressure is exerted on it, coming from greater requirements for irrigation, for industrial and urban use, which progressively increases when adding the consumption factor of the population.
Another key factor is the contamination induced by the use of water resources through the application of pesticides and fertilizers that filter through the soil and dissolve in the irrigation water, which finally enter the riverbed of the basin without receiving a proper treatment.
Urban and industrial discharges are poorly treated due to lack of surveillance by the state, a factor that puts water quality at risk. In some municipalities of Albacete there are no treatment plants, so the water is discharged into the river without any type of purification. The result is dangerous waters for the ecosystem and the population.
The Calar del Río Mundo constitutes a unique plant enclave in the province of Albacete. The vegetation that occurs in the basin depends directly on the temperature, the amount of precipitation and the composition of the soil. There are approximately 1,300 registered plant species, many of them endemic species.
The temperature and rainfall conditions make the species that inhabit throughout the basin vary.
Among the most common species are black pine, creeping juniper, rodeno pine, maple, rowan, gall, oak, hazel, holly, juniper, laureola, ash, elm, peony, lavender, marjoram, Aleppo pine, Cazorla grease, sage, rosemary, almond, thyme, jarilla, bitter chamomile, oak, yew and creeping cherry.
Along with the native vegetation coexist species introduced by the inhabitants of the area for their subsistence and commercial use. Among these we can mention olive crops and orchards dedicated to the cultivation of fruits..
The Mundo River basin is part of the 19,192 hectares of Los Calares del Mundo and La Sima Park. The territory was constituted as a national park on May 5, 2005 due to its geological value and its biodiversity.
More than 170 animal species have been recorded including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, invertebrates and mammals, some of them endemic.
Among the animal species of the region, the following stand out: golden eagle, common trout, Cabrera vole, squirrels, dormouse, bogas, mountain goat, otter, San Antón frog, Valverde lizard, deer, ocellated lizard, Bonelli's eagle, cat mountain, mouflon, Elizabethan butterfly, peregrine falcon, wild boar, griffon vulture and eagle owl.
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