River Ripoll

Ripoll
River
The Ripoll in Les Arenes, Castellar del Vallès.
Country	Spain
Region	Catalonia
Cities	Sant Llorenç Savall, Castellar del Vallès, Sabadell, Barberà del Vallès, Ripollet, Montcada i Reixac
Source	Serra de Granera
- location	Granera, Catalonia, Spain
- elevation	640 m (2,100 ft)
Length	39.5 km (25 mi)

The Ripoll is a river in the comarca of Vallès Occidental, Catalonia, Spain. It covers the vast majority of the shire, crossing it from north to south, and flows into the river Besòs, near Barcelona.

The source of the river is located in the Serra de Granera, at 640 metres (2,100 ft) of elevation, and it discharges in Montcada i Reixac, at 35.5 metres (116 ft). It has a length of 39.5 kilometres (24.5 mi), with a total of 181.5 kilometres (112.8 mi), once its tributaries are included. It covers the vast majority of the comarca of Vallès Occidental, passing through the municipalities of Sant Llorenç Savall, Castellar del Vallès, Sabadell, Barberà del Vallès, Ripollet and Montcada i Reixac. Throughout the comarca, it crosses alluvial clay terrains, which erodes easily, causing the river to carve a deep path into the soil.

Throughout its history, the river was used by the inhabitants of the surrounding area for irrigation. Irrigation has been in place from at least the mid-10th century, when priests of Sant Llorenç built an irrigation system that is still used to work the orchards along the riverside and mills to produce flour.

As modernization also reached the area, most of the mills were reconverted to produce paper. However, by the 18th century, the production of paper had ceased to be a dominant industry along the river.