Nature Reserve Banks of Castronuño

Reserva natural de las Riberas de Castronuño-Vega del Duero
Nature Reserve Banks of Castronuño
The natural reserve on a map of Castile and Leon
Location Province of Valladolid,
Castile and Leon,
 Spain
Nearest cityCastronuño, Pollos, Torrecilla de la Abadesa and Tordesillas
Coordinates41°23′36″N 5°16′1″W / 41.39333°N 5.26694°W / 41.39333; -5.26694
Area8.421 ha[1]
Established11 April 2002
Governing bodyJunta de Castilla y León (Government of Castile and León)
www.patrimonionatural.org/ren.php?espacio_id=31

The Natural Reserve on the banks of Castronuño-Vega del Duero is a nature reserve situated in the western part of the province of Valladolid, autonomous community of Castile and Leon, Spain. This is the only natural area protected in this province. Also it is known as the Gran Florida del Duero (the Great Florida of the Douro) .[2]

One of the paths of the reserve.
View from the viewpoint of the Muela towards the railway bridge.
The river Douro, seen from the viewpoint of the Muela towards the dam.
Dam of San José. The construction of this dam in the decade of the 40s, was what brought about the formation of this natural reserve.
The Duero River to its step by Castronuño.

Is located in an area of moorland and sedimented banks. Therefore, this is an area of nesting and migratory water birds. The Duero is surrounded by forests of Ribera and constitutes a very interesting swamp ecosystem. It is an area of great plains and absence of high elevations

History

In the 1940s a dam was constructed across the Douro River as part of a hydroelectric plant. Upstream, in the municipal district of Castronuño, was created the reservoir of San Jose, which was what brought about the formation of this reserve, which constitutes a unique ecosystem with biotic elements and landscape.

Many sediments were flooded and changed the riverbank to fertile fields, which were gradually colonized by large masses of the reedbed, maintained by the constant level of the reservoir. The greater growing mass of the reedbed attracted more birds attracted to the habitat of the wetlands. It is a semi-natural wetland.

The nature reserve was considered a Special Protection Area for Birds in 1992 and Strict Nature Reserve in 2002.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Reserva Natural de las Riberas de Castronuño-Vega del Duero.

References

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2014) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Castronuño-Zamora. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 16/10/2014
  2. ^ "Castronuño". Archived from the original on 2015-10-29. Retrieved 2015-10-28.