The is the third longest
River in
Spain (after the
Tagus and
Ebro ). The name comes from the
Arabic ''al-wādĩ al-kabir'' (الوادي الكبير), 'the big river'. The river was called
Betis from Pre-Roman times to the ''al-andalus'' period.
It has a length of 657 kilometers and drains an area of about 58,000 square kilometers. It begins at
Vélez-Blanco ,
Almería , passes through
Córdoba and
Seville and ends in the village of
Bonanza , near the town of
Sanlucar De Barrameda , flowing into the
Gulf Of Cadiz (
Atlantic Ocean ). The
Marsh y lowlands at the river's end are known as "
Las Marismas ". It borders
Doñana National Park reserve.
The Guadalquivir river is the only
Navigable river in Spain. Currently it is navigable up as far as Seville, but in
Roman times it was navigable to Córdoba.
The capital of Tartessia sank in the mouth of the swampy Guadalquivir River (and now is famously thought to have been Atlantis), its sunken ruins show great fortifications and columns.
