L’Aiguabarreig en

Located in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula, the confluence of the rivers Segre, Cinca and Ebre, receives the proper name of Aiguabarreig. It is the largest river union and probably the most biologically interesting in Iberia.

Administratively one side belongs to Catalonia, and it is where we find all the fluvial space, foothills and bordering mountains (Massís de Montllober, Tossals de Montmeneu and d'Almatret) within the so-called Plan of Areas of Natural Interest (PEIN) and the Natura 2000 Network including the municipal terms of Seròs, Massalcoreig, La Granja d'Escarp, Almatret (all of them from Segrià) and La Pobla de Massaluca (Terra Alta).

The western shore is located in the region of Baix Cinca, in the towns of Vilella de Cinca, Saidí, Fraga, Torrent de Cinca and Mequinensa and a small portion (Faió) at one end of Matarranya. All of them therefore under the administration of Aragon. In this area, no protection process has yet been finalized, but in September 2001 it was declared a Special Bird Protection Zone under the name ZEPA Matarranya-Aiguabarreig. Encompassing the central area of the Aiguabarreig, from the south of Torrent de Cinca, the entire fluvial area of Mequinensa to the junction with the Matarranya river in the region of the same name. For the Matarranya basin, the ZEPA includes the municipalities of Faió, Nonasp, Favara and Maella.

Landscape-wise, in the Aiguabarreig we find hundreds of meters of water, with numerous islands and the largest riparian forests of the Ebro, large masses of reeds and wide glaciers of codissos (pebbles), badinas and galatxos, lagoons sweet and salty, rice paddies and torrents. It is also a point of convergence of the steppe flora, coming from the Monegres desert and the Mediterranean flora by way of the Ebro, including some elements specific to the mountain. The interlaced connection of river banks and lagoons with an arid and Mediterranean environment where there are often vertical cliffs and at the same time planes of fruit trees give it this exceptional biological wealth.

Due to these characteristics, species from very different environments coexist where birds are the most prominent group, since it includes colonies of swifts or all kinds of birds of prey to birds from desert environments, including an extensive representation of rare species and threatened in Europe. Reptiles, amphibians and mammals are added, notoriously, with an extraordinary string of muricecs (feathered rats), an abundant population of Deer and the smaller ones the Otter and the Wild Goat. The endemisms are notable in the entomofauna and in the waters, together with the naiads, populations of native fish such as the Fraret or River Rabosa (Blenius fluviatilis) subsist with difficulty (due to the effects of the reservoirs and the introduction of Silurian).

The strictly fluvial area of the Aiguabarreig is a wetland of great importance as a breeding, wintering and resting area for migratory fauna. The location in the middle of the Ebro depression and the proximity of the Delta add value as an extraordinary connector.