Basin size 1,039 km (401 sq mi) Discharge 4.33 m³/s Mouth Mediterranean Sea Country Spain | Length 18 km Basin area 1,038 km² Province Province of Barcelona | |
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River mouth Mediterranean Sea
0 m (0 ft) Similar Serra de Collserola, Gorg station, Pep Ventura, Llefià, Parque fluvial del Besós | ||
The Besòs ([bəˈzɔs]) is a river flowing through Catalonia, Spain, formed by the confluence of the Mogent and Congost rivers. It ends in the Mediterranean. Its full watershed includes the following cities: Aiguafreda, La Garriga, Sant Fost de Campsantelles, Canovelles, Granollers, Montmeló, Mollet del Vallès, Montcada i Reixac, Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Barcelona and Sant Adrià de Besòs. Due to its Mediterranean climate, the river can have an extreme discrepancies in flow depending on the weather.
Contents
Map of El Bes%C3%B2s, Barcelona, Spain
Tributaries
The Besòs river has five main tributaries:
History
A non-navigable river, the Besòs was nonetheless a link between the Catalan coast and the interior. In the 10th century, the Rec Comtal was built to use the river for irrigation.
As it passes through a highly industrialized area (Barcelona metropolitan region), it had the dubious honor of being the most contaminated river in Europe during the 1970s and 1980s. Since the mid-1990s, however, the river has been in the process of recovery. The Fòrum Universal de les Cultures, which took place in Barcelona during 2004, allowed the creation of a recreation area called Parc Fluvial del Besòs between the cities of Barcelona, Santa Coloma de Gramenet and Sant Adrià del Besòs.