Tranco de Beas Dam

Tranco de Beas Dam & Reservoir

The Tranco de Beas Dam and Reservoir is situated on the Guadalquivir river, in the municipalities of Pontones – Santiago de la Espada and Hornos de Segura, province of Jaén, Andalucía.

The Tranco de Beas Dam collets water from the Guadalquivir river, Hornos river, from the Barranco del Cerezuelo, the Barranco de los Frailes, from El Retozadero stream, Aguadero stream, Canalejas and Espumaderas streams, the Wolf stream and Cañete, Montero, Cuesta de la Escalera and Los Molino streams.

The reservoir is part of the upper Guadalquivir, is location is strategic being one of the access points inside the Natural Park of Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas.

The reservoir has a capacity of 498,2 Hm3 and belongs to the Hydrographic Confederation of the Guadalquivir (Jaén zone) and was constructed between 1929 and 1944. It begans its operations in 1946.

The type of dam is Gravity Arch and curve plant. The height above foundation is 93 m and its coronation length is 290 m.

The reservoir has a basin area of 550 hectares, an average rainfall of 842 l/m2 and an average annual contribution of 211 Hm3.

Purpose

The reservoir of Tranco de Beas was built for:

– Irrigation (1,5 million m3/day)

– Ecological: 0,10

– Energy

Fishing – Water sports – Pic-nic

Hornos de Segura Municipality

Hornos is a municipality included, in its entirety, within the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas Natural Park and belonging to the Sierra de Segura region. It is eminently forested in terms of municipal surface, since the pine forests account for approximately 80% of the territory, giving rise to the presence of attractive natural landscapes both in the steep highlands, and at the level of the El Tranco reservoir. The town center is located on a large rock, crowned by the castle, and retains the character of a medieval town, overlooking one of the tails of El Tranco. The economy of Hornos revolves around tourism, forestry and olive cultivation. Hunting and fishing activities are also abundant.