| Yesa Reservoir | |
|---|---|
 View of the Yesa swamp from Ruesta | |
  Location between Navarre and Zaragoza | |
| Official name | Embalse de Yesa |
| Country | Spain |
| Location | Navarre Aragon |
| Coordinates | 42°36′55″N 1°10′17″W / 42.61528°N 1.17139°W |
| Purpose | Water supply Power |
| Opening date | 1959 |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Gravity dam |
| Impounds | Aragón River |
| Height | 76 m (249 ft) |
| Reservoir | |
| Total capacity | 447 hm3 (362,000 acre⋅ft) |
| Surface area | 2,089 ha (5,160 acres) |
The Yesa Reservoir is located in the Pyrenees, and is formed with the damming of the Aragon River, in the Navarre town of Yesa (Spain), although the largest area of the reservoir is located in the province of Zaragoza, extending from east to west. It is located to the northwest of the Aragonese province of Zaragoza and to the east of Navarre. Most of it floods lands of the Berdun Canal, in the Aragonese region of Jacetania in the municipalities of Sigüés, Ruesta, Escó, and Tiermas.[1] It is known by the nickname Mar de los Pirineos (English: sea of the Pyrenees) and is located at the entrance of the aforementioned. It is the largest navigable area of Aragon and it is the source of the Bardenas Canal that transfers water to the Ribera area south of Navarra and irrigates the Bardenas Reales and the Cinco Villas region of Zaragoza. It is also used for water supply and as a power station.
It has a capacity of 446.86 hm³ (although it has held 488.10 hm³[1]), reaching the following elevations: minimum, 435.00 m; crest, 490.00 m; spillway, 482.61 m and maximum normal reservoir elevation of 488.61 m. The length of the tail end of the reservoir is 10 km with widths varying between 1 and 2.5 km. It occupies an area of 1900 hectares.[1]
It was inaugurated in 1960 and caused the abandonment of several towns: Ruesta, Tiermas, and Escó with an affected population of more than 1500 people. Collaterally, due to the expropriation and planting of pine trees to prevent the siltation of the reservoir, the following upstream towns were affected: Larrosa, Villanovilla, Bescós de Garcipollera, Bergosa, Acín, and, Yosa de Garcipollera in the Garcipollera valley, now belonging to the municipality of Jaca and Cenarbe in Villanúa.[2] 2408 hectares of farmland were flooded, of which 1000 were of very good agricultural quality.
On the other hand, the waters of the Aragón river transferred by the Bardenas canal to the region of Cinco Villas and the Bardenas Reales have led to the creation of 81 107.64 ha of irrigated land, 18 941.61 ha (23.35 %) in the province of Navarra and 62 166.03 ha (76.65%) in the province of Zaragoza, which, together with the supply to the 54 777 inhabitants who depend directly on the system, demand an average annual flow of 467 hm³ of water.[3] This has led to the creation of some fifteen colonization villages, which are home to some 1267 families,[4] many of which come from the villages evicted when the Berdún canal area was flooded. Such is the case of El Bayo, to which many families from Tiermas had to emigrate.[5]
- ^ a b c Madrid Provincial Court (5th Section). Judgment No. 43/2006 of 16 MayARP\2006\328
- ^ Ministerio de Agricultura (1955). "DECRETO de 13 de mayo de 1955 por el que se declara de utilidad pública y necesidad y urgencia de la ocupación, a efectos de su repoblación forestal, de diferentes montes situados en los términos municipales de Bescós de Garcipollera, Acín y Castiello de Jaca" [DECREE of 13 May 1955, declaring the public utility and the necessity and urgency of the occupation, for reforestation purposes, of different forests located in the municipalities of Bescós de Garcipollera, Acín and Castiello de Jaca.] (PDF) (in Spanish). Madrid. Boletín Oficial del Estado (English: Official Gazette of the State); BOE 147: 3210, of 27 May 1955.
- ^ Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro. "El Canal de Bardenas". Zaragoza. Archived from the original on 20 April 2008.
- ^ DiCom Medios SL. "Gran enciclopedia aragonesa. Bardenas, canal de". Zaragoza. Archived from the original on 2013-12-12. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
- ^ López, Ángeles. "El cementerio de Tiermas recibe todavía la visita de sus antiguos vecinos". Zaragoza.