Granada Basin

Looking from the Albaicín to the Alhambra, with the central city of Granada spread out below on the plain of the Depression.

The Granada Basin, Depression of Granada or Granada Depression (Spanish: Depresión de Granada) is a totally enclosed valley in Andalusia, Spain. The river Genil runs through the valley upon exiting from the Sierra Nevada until it passes through the Infiernos de Loja. On the north it borders the comarca of Los Montes on the southern border of the Cordillera Subbética; on the north west are the Sierra de Loja and El Hacho; on the southwest the Sierra Gorda; in the south the Sierra de la Almijara; and in the east the aforementioned Sierra Nevada. It is one of the series of valleys forming the Surco Intrabético.

The two easiest points of communication with the outside world are the threshold between the Sierra Nevada and the Sierra de la Almijara (the Lecrin Valley) and the gorge of the River Genil in the Infiernos de Loja, which separates El Hacho from the Sierra Gorda. It runs roughly east–west for about 65 kilometres (40 mi) and reaches its greatest width in the eastern part and its narrowest as it arrives at the Infiernos de Loja.