Odiel



The Odiel (Río Odiel) is a river in the Atlantic basin in southern Spain, more precisely in the province of Huelva, Andalusia. It originates at Marimateos in the Sierra de Aracena at an elevation of 660 m above sea level. At the Punta del Sebo, it joins the Rio Tinto to form the Huelva Estuary. Its principal tributaries are the Escalada, Meca, Olivargas, Oraque, Santa Eulalia, and El Villar. Its basin covers 990 km2.

In Roman times it was known as the Urius, although some scholars have proposed to identify the Odiel with another ancient name normally associated with the Río Tinto (Luxia). Even before the Romans, its mouth was an important place of commerce, as can be seen by archaeological remnants from Phoenicians and Ancient Greeks, known as the "Huelva Estuary Deposit" (Depósito de la Ría de Huelva), dated 1000 BCE.