Ebro Delta

The Ebro Delta is one of Spain's most important rice-growing regions, producing varieties such as Bomba and Carnaroli under the Arroz del Delta del Ebro denomination of origin. The delta also supports significant aquaculture, including oyster and mussel farming in its coastal lagoons.

The Parc Natural del Delta de l'Ebre protects the delta's wetlands, salt pans, and lagoons, which provide habitat for over 300 bird species including flamingos, purple herons, and Audouin's gulls. It is one of the most important wetland reserves in the western Mediterranean.

The delta covers approximately 320 square kilometers in Catalonia's Tarragona province, forming the largest wetland on the Iberian Peninsula's Mediterranean coast. It was built over centuries by sediment deposition from the Ebro River, though upstream dams have significantly reduced the river's sediment load in modern times.

Yes, the construction of dams along the Ebro River, particularly the Mequinensa and Ribarroja reservoirs completed in the 1960s, has trapped most of the sediment that once sustained the delta. This has led to concern about coastal erosion and subsidence, with parts of the delta now losing land to the Mediterranean Sea.