Ebro Delta

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title: "Ebro Delta" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["ebro-basin", "estuaries-of-spain", "wetlands-of-catalonia", "natural-parks-of-catalonia", "landforms-of-catalonia", "landforms-of-spain", "river-deltas-of-europe", "province-of-tarragona", "ramsar-sites-in-spain"] description: "River delta in Catalonia" topic_path: "geography/spain" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebro_Delta" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary River delta in Catalonia ::

| designation1 = Ramsar | designation1_offname = Delta de l'Ebre | designation1_date = 26 March 1993 | designation1_number = 593}} ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Ebro_Delta_from_Landsat.jpg" caption="Ebro River]] delta at the [[Mediterranean Sea]] from space"] ::

The Ebro Delta (, ; , ) is the delta region of the Ebro River (, ) in the southwest of the Province of Tarragona in the region of Catalonia in Spain. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, and is the northernmost point, by some designations, of the Gulf of Valencia. Its location per Ramsar site designation is .

Geography

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Delta_del_Ebro_Anedes.JPG" caption="Ebro Delta [[estuary]] and wetlands, with [[waterfowl]]."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Arrozales_en_el_Delta_del_Ebro.JPG" caption="Agricultural fields in the delta."] ::

The Ebro Delta is one of the largest wetland areas in the western Mediterranean region, at 320 km2. The Ebro delta has expanded rapidly on soils washed downriver. The town of Amposta, a seaport in the 4th century, demonstrates the historical rate of growth of the delta as it is now located well inland from the current river mouth. The rounded form of the delta attests to the balance between sediment deposition by the Ebro and removal of this material by wave erosion.

The area at the primary mouth of the Ebro is currently protected by several fluvial islands: the Isle of Garxal (280 ha), the Isle of Sant Antoni (170 ha), and the Isle of Buddha (1231 ha).

The Ebro Delta was placed, with 7736 ha in 1993, on the Ramsar Convention list of wetlands of international importance as defined for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific, and recreational value.

Uses

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Delta_de_l'Ebre.jpg" caption="The Ebre Delta [[wetland]]s [[habitat]]."] ::

Agriculture

Some delta areas have been drained for agricultural use over the centuries. The modern delta is in intensive agricultural use for rice, fruit (in particular citrus), and vegetables. The Rice-producing Cooperative of the Ebro Delta accounts for a production capacity of 45 thousand tonnes of rice annually, from 14 varietals,

Since 1992, the Ebro Delta is one of three Spanish regions awarded a Protected Designation of Origin for rice production.

A network of canals and irrigation ditches constructed by both agricultural and conservation groups are helping to maintain the ecologic and economic resources of the Ebro Delta. The zebra mussel, an invasive species, is expanding through the delta and upstream in Ebro waters. Due to its rapid rate of reproduction with a competing advantage, the zebra mussel is adversely affecting native species.

Wildlife

In 1983 Spain designated a large part of the delta as a natural park. Ebro Delta Natural Park (Catalan: Parc Natural del Delta de l'Ebre, Spanish: Parque Natural del Delta del Ebro) has a total surface area of 7802 ha. The natural park has protected wetlands, beaches, marshes, salt pans, and estuaries that provide extensive habitats.

The park is of international importance for eight of its plant species and 69 of its vertebrate fauna. It has some 95 breeding species of birds, is also very important for over 300 species of a wide range of transient and overwintering species, and serves as an essential stopover point for large numbers of migratory birds and waterfowl. The Ebro delta has the world's largest colony of Audouin's gulls. In 2006 it held a record number of more than 15,000 pairs.

Threats

Climate change has led to increased erosion of the delta from the sea, as well as increasing the level of the saltwater table. At the same time, dams upstream have reduced the amount of sediment reaching the delta. The resulting changes to the delta are damaging biodiversity and local farmers.

References

• Ebro in the Columbia Encyclopedia

References

1. "Delta del Ebro".
2. [https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ca&u=http://ebre.info/delta/cat/parc/parc.htm&ei=7sDaTaHdF8PgiAKPneyACA&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CD0Q7gEwAg&prev=/search%3Fq%3DParc%2BNatural%2Bdel%2BDelta%2Bde%2Bl%2527Ebre%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1320%26bih%3D699%26prmd%3Divnsm Ebro.info: Ebro Delta Natural Park] . accessed 5.22.2011
3. Nienhuis, Jaap H.. (2017-09-25). "Large-scale coastal and fluvial models constrain the late Holocene evolution of the Ebro Delta". Earth Surface Dynamics.
4. link. (2013-03-07 . accessed 5.22.2011)
5. [http://www.ramsar.org/pdf/sitelist.pdf Ramsar list]
6. [http://www.wetlands.org/RSDB/default.htm Ramsar Sites Database] {{webarchive. link. (2008-07-14)
7. . (n.d.). ["Europe § Geographical features and major cultivation constraints"](http://ricepedia.org/rice-around-the-world/europe). *Ricepedia*.
8. {{usurped
9. Nathan Siegel. (5 July 2023). "Can Spain keep the rising sea from washing away a critical delta?". Mongabay.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::