Nalon River

The Nalón River is a river in northern Spain that runs entirely through the autonomous community of Asturias. It is 153 km long, it rises at the Fuente la Nalona, in the port of Tarna, (Caso) and empties between San Esteban de Pravia and San Juan de la Arena forming the Pravia estuary after irrigating the Peñaullán fertile plain and receiving the Narcea river in Forcinas, (Pravia). The length of the Nalón, also considering the Pravia estuary, is 158 km, being both the length and the surface area of its basin the largest of the rivers on the slope Cantabrian of the Iberian Peninsula. In its basin there is an important coal reserve, exploited mainly in the council of Langreo.

Although the average flow is 55.18 m³/s, annual maximums and minimums of 1250 and 3.40 m³/s respectively.

Nalón has always been an attractor for people and a source of wealth. In the Middle Ages there were four differentiated territories around its basin: the Caso valley, where it meets the Orlé river, the Oviedo territory, the Candamo region, and finally the Sauto territory, from Candamo to the sea, between Muros and the Gamonéu mountain range, which at the beginning of the XII century begins to alternate with the name of Pravia. Meanwhile, the XVIII century was projected to make it navigable to favor the transfer of coal from the incipient mining basin to Gijón, but Jovellanos considered it non-viable.

Toponymy

Her name has changed over time. Strabo is the one who makes the first mention of this river that he consigns as Melsos ; but it is very probable, according to the opinion of José Manuel González, that this Melsos is more than a Hellenization of Naelus or Nailos, which is as it appears in Ptolemy in an attempt to transcribe the name of the river that runs through Asturian lands, perhaps *Náelo or *Nelo.

In the documents of the Asturian kingdom it appears as Nilo,-onis (undoubtedly confirming biblical influence), with variants of the type Nalo, -onis which is close to the current expression Nalón. In this, some phonetic influences are probably intertwined, among which the one exerted by the Asturian verb nalar 'to swim', esnadar 'to move the wings' should be highlighted.

González himself suspects that we are dealing with an Indo-European base *NER, *NAR, with possible variants *NEL, *NAL, and meaning 'water' that would explain the name of some Asturian rivers.

Course

High Course

After its birth, and after traveling a few kilometers, at the height of Campo Caso, it forms, due to the karstic relief of the terrain, the Deboyu Cave, to return to the surface below the village of Las Yanes, in the same council of Case. At the height of Coballes, in a place now submerged in the Tanes reservoir, it receives the waters of the Caleao river from the left. After crossing the council of Sobrescobio and leaving behind the Tanes and Rioseco reservoirs, it heads towards the council of Laviana, where it passes next to Condado and we can see the famous Torrejón, a medieval work from the XIV, rectangular in plan with walls made of masonry and ashlars, with a window and shield. And a few kilometers below, the Arcoque bridge, a Roman bridge of uncertain dating.

Afterwards, it crosses San Martín del Rey Aurelio, where it receives from the left, among others, the waters of the Santa Bárbola river. After crossing the council of Langreo, where it joins the waters provided by the river Candín on its right bank, it enters Oviedo through Veguín.

Intermediate course

The middle course begins in the council of Oviedo, a council through which it crosses towns such as Udrión, Olloniego or Pintoria. He leaves the Oviedo council to go to Ribera de Arriba, where the dam that supplies water to the Soto de Ribera thermal power station is located and where, on the left, it receives the water that the Caudal river brings from the councils of Morcín and Riosa, Mieres, Aller and Lena. Back in Oviedo, and after passing through the parishes of Puerto and Caces, it reaches Trubia, where it receives the waters of the homonymous river from the left. From there to the junction with the Nora river, at the height of the Moscon town of Tahoces, the Nalón, dammed twice by the Furacón and Priañes dams, forms the border between the councils of Oviedo and Grado. After joining the waters of the aforementioned Nora, which approaches it from the right, it continues, on its way to the sea, through lands of the Grado council.

Low Course

The Nalón continues its course through the councils of Candamo and Pravia. In the latter, the town of Forcinas is walled, receiving from the left the Narcea river that brings water from the councils of Cangas del Narcea, Allande, Tineo, Miranda and Somiedo among many others. With the volume greatly increased by the important contribution of the Narcea, it passes next to the town of Pravia, which is on its right, and heads towards the sea. It surrounds the islet of Arcubín, today covered with kiwi plantations, and after passing under the old N-632 bridge, it forms the San Esteban estuary. After leaving the town and port of San Esteban on the left and the town of La Arena on the right, it dies docilely in the Cantabrian Sea, after traveling 145 kilometers and collecting the waters of the 4,839 km² that make up the Nalón-Narcea hydrographic basin.

The Nalon at his pace between Sama and La Felguera

Localities it crosses

Ordered from mouth to source:

Under Nalon

San Esteban de Pravia (Muros de Nalón), San Juan de la Arena (Soto del Barco), Soto (Soto del Barco), Riberas de Pravia (Soto del Barco), Peñaullán (Pravia), Santianes del Rey Silo (Pravia), Pravia (Pravia), Santos Rom (Candamo), Forcinas (Pravia), Put (Pravia), San Tirsoanda

Medium course

Castañedo (Grado), Peñaflor (Grado), Santa María de Grado (Grado), Valduno (Las Regueras), Pintoria (Oviedo), Caces (Oviedo), Puerto (Oviedo), Udrión (Oviedo), Godos (Oviedo), Olloniego (Oviedo), Tudela Veguín (Oviedo), Box (Oviedo), Palomar, Ribera

Nalon Valley

Frieres, Barros, La Felguera, Lada, Sama and Ciaño (Langreo), El Entrego, Sotrondio and Blimea (San Martín del Rey Aurelio), Barredos, Carrio, Pola de Laviana, Entralgo, Puente D'Arcu, Lorío y El Condao (Laviana), Rioseco (Surscobio), Abantro, Coballes and Campo)

Tributaries

The Narcea River in its confluence with the Nalon

Left Margin

Its main tributaries are on its left bank, most of them born between the Cantabrian estuary and the Leitariegos port:

• Narcea: is the main tributary with 97 km length.
• Caudal:18 km
• Trubia: 46 km.
• Cubia: 41 km.
• Sama: from 16.5 kmIt flows near Llera, Grade.
• Aranguín:18−20 kmHe is the lowest tributary on this margin, joining the Nalon at Pravia's height.

Right margin

On its right bank, the tributaries are much smaller, except the Nora, due to the mountain range that limits it on that side:

• Nora: 67 km.
• Orle: from 11 km, converge with the Nalon near Abantro, in the Case Council
• Candin