Guadalquivir Marshes

Guadalquivir Marshes Marismas del Guadalquivir
Natural region
Landscape of Las Marismas with rice fields in the Isla Mayor area.
Guadalquivir Marshes
Coordinates:
Country	Spain
Region	Andalusia
Area
• Total	2,000 km2 (800 sq mi)

The Guadalquivir Marshes, Spanish: Marismas del Guadalquivir or simply Las Marismas, is a natural region of marshy lowlands in the lower Guadalquivir River.

The Las Marismas zone is part of Seville province, in Andalusia, Spain. The territory includes part of the municipalities of Isla Mayor, Los Palacios y Villafranca, La Puebla del Río, Utrera, Las Cabezas de San Juan and Lebrija.

History

Approximately twenty centuries ago the wetlands were a large lagoon and estuary, known as Lacus Ligustinus in Latin, with the mouth of the Guadalquivir River and some coastal sand bars to the South of it. The lake later became filled with sediment deposits, gradually giving way to the current marshes.

The Marquisate of the Guadalquivir Marshes (Marquesado de las Marismas del Guadalquivir) is a Marquisate of Spain. The noble title was established by King Fernando VII through Royal decree in 1829.

In present times the main economic activity of the wetland area is agriculture, with emphasis on the cultivation of rice. A surface of about 400 km² is currently under cultivation with a production output of 310,000 metric tones, which is approximately 40% of Spain's rice production.

Protected area

Main article: Doñana National Park

The wetland surface affected by human activity behaves like a buffer to the Doñana National Park, a protected area of marshes, shallow streams, and sand dunes. The National Park was established in 1969 nature reserve in 1969 when the World Wildlife Fund joined with the Spanish government and purchased a section of the local wetland zones in order to protect them.

See also

• Gulf of Cádiz
• Sanlúcar de Barrameda

External links

• Coto de Doñana
• Sanlúcar Central Bureau for Tourism