Puntos de Interés
Hydrography
Canal de Tordesillas
The Tordesillas Canal is a 28-kilometre hydraulic infrastructure project designed to facilitate irrigation. The current area under cultivation is 2,400 ha, with 1,902 ha of irrigated land. The main crops grown are maize, potato and sunflower.
The construction was initiated by Pedro Martín y Martín, a young civil engineer, in 1896 at the age of 29. He applied to carry out a series of studies to build an irrigation canal between Simancas and Tordesillas.
The infrastructure, which commenced operation in 1923, comprises a trapezoidal section bed lined with concrete. The canal, which originates at the main pumping station at Villamarciel and terminates at the outlet at Torre Duero, supplies water to over 2,000 ha of a beautiful fertile plain located on both sides of Tordesillas, on the north side of the Duero River.
The system has two additional lifting points: one in Santa Marina and the other in San Vicente. In addition, it is complemented by a network of irrigation channels responsible for distributing the water throughout the plain, the most important of which is the Villamarciel-Geria-Simancas irrigation channel, which covers a further 10 km.
The canal crosses the urban area of Tordesillas and Torrecilla de la Abadesa. Furthermore, it has enabled the construction of numerous bridges and siphons, which have been built to overcome the small channels of numerous streams. The rusted machinery used to regulate the flow along the route is worthy of further investigation.
The main pumping station is situated on the old and dilapidated mills of Torrepesquera, which form part of the historical legacy of the Carthusian monastery of Aniago. Although the site is currently in a state of disrepair, it is possible to enjoy a pleasant walk between the old structures and the dam. The Barcelona-made machines have a lifting capacity of 2,300 litres per second at a height of 8 metres, enabling the filling of the canal bed.
Further along, in the vicinity of San Miguel del Pino, there is a riverside landscape with a certain charm, including fishing posts on the banks of the Duero, a dam, a fountain and the miller's house.