Waterwheels in the historic irrigation of Albudeite (Murcia Region)

A singular system in the spanish mediterranean

Abstract

The water wheels or wheels have played a fundamental role in traditional irrigated landscapes, by allowing the expansion of cultivation areas and vertebrate the structure of the territory. They are thus part of the cultural heritage of the Mediterranean area. However, many of these devices stopped working during the twentieth century, presenting today a state of abandonment and ruin. In the Segura basin, in the deficit irrigation of the Mula River, there was a set of wheels around the town of Albudeite (Murcia Region); singular system composed of norias and rafts adapted to the shortage of water resources and the geographical characteristics of the area, where a semi-arid climate predominates.
The geographical study of rural character allows to verify the singularity of this system of water management in the Spanish Levante, as well as the value that these constructions had in the extension of the arable space. In this case, it would be necessary to take care and safeguard measures on the water distribution network in particular and the landscape in general in this historic irrigation of Southeast Spain.