Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-2023
Abstract
In the summer of 1999, I traveled to eastern Spain to observe the irrigated landscapes of the region known as huertas. I had recently completed a book about the community acequias of the upper Río Grande and set out to compare them with counterpart systems of Valencia, Murcia, and Lorca. In Valencia the highlights included a session of the fabled Water Court, the Tribunal de las Aguas de Valencia, and a tour of huertas within the urbanized portion of city. In Murcia I visited the office of the Junta de Hacendados and from there made it a point to observe the Azud or diversion dam known as the Contraparada as well as one of its main acequias that irrigates the huertas of Murcia. My last stop was at Lorca to meet with the director of the Municipal Archives to request a copy of an 1847 Historia de los riegos de Lorca, concluding with a tour of an acequia in the town and its system of wooden check dams called tablachos.
Recommended Citation
Rivera, José A. Ph.D. "Travels in El Levante Spain: Field Notes and Reflections Summer of 1999." (2023). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/arch_fsp/5
