Orography

The area orography is determined by the course of the Almanzora river, where different streams, tributaries and ravines flow into.

One of the outstanding tributaries is Arroyo Aceituno, since it flows through different municipalities, such as Albanchez, Cantoria and Arboleas, where it ends up.

The largest tributaries in terms of volume are Rambla de La Cinta, Rambla de Los Higuerales, Rambla de Córdoba y Rambla de Canales, serving this last one as a natural borderline with Zurgena.

PHYSICAL MAP OF ARBOLEAS

The river, as well as the streams and tributaries, plays a very important role on the distribution of the rainwater to the irrigated land; since this water is collected and stored and later taken through the acequias (tradicional irrigation ditches) to the different plots.

This way of making the most of the rainwater is typical of the Almeria province, with a thousand-year-old “cultura del agua” (water culture), especially in the Comarca del Almanzora (Almanzora region), as it could be observed in the Purchena Tribunal de las Aguas (water court), that does not exist any longer.