The Vinalopó is a small river flowing through the Alicante province, of Spain. It flows from north to south and, with a length of 81 km., it is the longest of the rivers which flows for its entire length within the limits of this province. It discharges into the Mediterranean at Salinas de Santa Pola.
For some historians, it corresponds to the Alebus incidentally mentioned by Avienius in his Ora Maritima.
Three comarcas (districts) in the Alicante province are named after it: Alt Vinalopó, Vinalopó Mitjà and Baix Vinalopó which mean, respectively, Upper Vinalopó, Middle Vinalopó and Lower Vinalopó.
Its source lies in a mountainous part of the northwest part of the Alicante province, between Bocairent and Banyeres de Mariola in an area known as Els Bruchs. It does not currently discharge into the Mediterranean Sea, but due to its diminished flow in the lower part of its course, it fades out into a series of small irrigation channels (séquies) which flow south of Elx/Elche into the marshes known as El Fondo Natural Park and the Salines de Santa Pola Natural Park.
The river, despite having been tiny during historical times, represents a significant corridor through the generally mountainous terrain surrounding it, along which several cities were settled, namely, from north to south, Banyeres de Mariola, Villena, Sax, Elda, Petrer, Novelda and Elx/Elche.
Hydrological regime
Despite officially being called a "river", it is actually more a stream, especially south of Beneixama, not far from its source. In that location, historical farming rights allow the farmers to take most of its flow for agricultural purposes. Past this location, it turns more into a tiny channel draining the residual waters of the various cities it passes through. Thus, south of Beneixama, its flow is depleted, saline, and polluted.
The upper Vinalopó has two small tributaries, the Marchal (a short stream near Banyeres de Mariola) and the Tarafa (another short stream, which flows through Aspe), but both of these may completely dry out during the Summer.
Perhaps more important than these tributaries are the various ramblas or dry riverbeds which discharge into the Vinalopó following extensive periods of rain. This is because, despite being a very dry area, Alicante province periodically suffers (within a periodicity that has been estimated as approximately once every 9 years or so) brief episodes of torrential rain (predominantly during the Autumn months, especially October and November). Following one of these episodes, all the dry riverbeds fill with water and discharge into the Vinalopó. This means that for the few days it takes until all this water is drained from the surrounding land, the flow rate of the river approaches what it may have been in the very distant past.
There are a number of important ramblas in the vicinity of Elda-Petrer such as the Pusa, Melva, Sapo and Bateig. Another tributary is the Acequia del Rey which discharges into the Vinalopó near Santa Eulalia. The waters of this river are briny and they drain the watershed around Villena.
During normal conditions (torrential rain episodes aside), the maximum sustained flow of the Vinalopó is reached by early winter in Colonia Santa Eulalia (near Sax) with an average of just 0,85 m³/s. By the time it reaches Aspe its average flow has reduced to a mere 0,38 m³/s. However, during periods of peak flow the river has breached its banks resulting in flooding that has caused damage to humans and property in Elda, this has occurred on a number of occasions most notable in 1906 and 1982.
Due to the semi-arid climate which characterizes the area that the river flows through (see Geography of the Comunitat Valenciana), the hydrological cycle in the Vinalopo's watershed is extremely fragile. Hence, were it not for sustained agricultural use over the centuries -not only of water extracted from the river but, probably more importantly, from the aquifers related to it- it could be argued that the Vinalopó would be a more substantial river. But at the present time, after centuries of usage, and given the restricted precipitation in the area, its fragile hydrological cycle was definitely broken a long time ago and it is now impossible that the aquifers could replenish within a lifetime, even if exploitation ceased completely.