Protection Name and Figure:
Natural Reserve of the Galachos of La Alfranca, La Cartuja and El Burgo de Ebro. Declared by Law 5/1991 of April 8, of the Cortes de Aragon. Special Protection Area for Birds (ZEPA), according to Directive 79/409 / EEC.
Municipal Terms:
El Burgo de Ebro, Pastriz y Zaragoza.
Extension:
777 hectares.
Altitude:
Between 180 meters and 206 meters.
Elements of Interest:
Sotos and humid zones.
Important colony of herons and winter concentrations of anatidae and passerines.
Description
The primitive physiognomy of the middle section of the Ebro Valley consisted of an extensive riverbank forest with numerous enclaves flooded almost permanently. Witnesses of this landscape, today still survive some old meanders abandoned by the river after heavy floods and that in Aragon are known by the name of galachos. At present, those of LA ALFRACA DE PASTRIZ, LA CARTUJA and EL BURGO DE EBRO are protected, constituting one of the best conserved riparian ecosystems of our Autonomous Community.
Galachos of the Ebro.
Since ancient times, these fertile lands have been the place chosen to locate important human settlements attracted by assured irrigation and good communications.
Progressively, the crops were stealing land from the riverbanks, but until the nineteenth century they still kept certain distances from the river bed.
It is during this century that the successive clearings, fellings and extractions of aggregates, added to the channeling of several sections of the river,
have destroyed a large part of the Ebro groves.
As of 1965, the protection of the Galacho de La Alfranca is claimed by numerous naturalists. In 1973 it was drafted by ICONA, the body responsible then for the conservation of nature, a protection project that would never see the light and in 1976, under the Law of Hunting, the total closure is achieved in this enclave. In 1982 the systematic campaigns began to ask for the protection of the galachos, obtaining the paralyzation of some burns in La Alfranca. After a great fire in 1986, a commission formed by technicians of the Diputación General de Aragón and representatives of the Ecological Coordinator of Aragón was formed, with the purpose of preparing a draft of a protection project that culminated in 1991 with the declaration of the NATURAL RESERVE OF THE GALACHOS OF LA ALFRANCA DE PASTRIZ, LA CARTUJA AND THE BURGO DE EBRO.
This area has become a place of recreation for the people of Zaragoza, being very frequented by hikers. As a result, new problems such as the increase of garbage have appeared in this Natural Space. However, the Reserve has also become a magnificent outdoor classroom, in which to carry out Environmental Education Programs. From the Interpretation Center of La Alfranca, various activities with schoolchildren and the population in general take place throughout the year.
These three galachos constitute the only riparian ecosystem in Aragón protected under one of the figures of Law 4/89. Guarantee the survival of these scarce natural spaces, avoiding any action that involves its deterioration is the main objective of its protection.
Other Protected Natural Spaces in Aragon:
- Natural Reserve of the Galachos de la Alfranca de Pastriz, La Cartuja and El Burgo de Ebro.
- Natural Park of the Dehesa del Moncayo.
- Park of la Sierra y Cañones de Guara.
- Park of Posets-Maladeta.
- Protected landscape of the pine forests of Rodeno.
- Natural Monuments of the Pyrenean Glaciers.
- National Site of National Interest of San Juan de la Peña.
- National Park of Ordesa and Monte Perdido.
- Ordesa-Viñamala Biosphere Reserve.
- Wildlife Refuges.
Also Aragon enjoys a diverse and varied Nature where passing by plants, animals, Geology, or landscapes we can arrive at a fantastic bestiary that lives in its monuments.
The information will not be complete without a stroll by its three provinces, with shutdown in some of its spectacular landscapes like Ordesa, the Moncayo, Monegros or by opposition the Ebro.
Also you can dedicarte to the intangible ones: from the legend compilation that also does to universal Aragon.