Hoz Seca River, Oceseca

Hoz Seca River

The River Hoz Seca, Oceseca, Hoceseca or Río del puerto is born in the term of Bronchales (Teruel) more specifically in the Fuente del Canto after which it flows intermittently in some cases for 32 km. Its waters flow into the Tagus in a spectacular spot known as the "Las Juntas. With such a short length it irrigates two provinces (Teruel and Guadalajara), flows into a third (Cuenca) and also bathes the autonomous communities of Aragon y Castilla-La Mancha.

It is an inhospitable river and completely wild. Apart from the fact that no point on its banks is less than five kilometres from any inhabited place, it is remote, except for a few places in its upper reaches, from places where human activities take place.

Its geographical setting makes it very inaccessible along almost its entire course. It can be said that, without any doubt, if the Montes Universales are the most uninhabited area in Spain, the surroundings of this river are the most uninhabited of the Montes Universales. The most absolute solitude will accompany any walker, almost regardless of the time of year, along almost its entire length.

The land through which the Hoz Seca river flows (including sickles, canyons, mountain meadows, ravines The river is a natural sanctuary worthy of the utmost protection. So far it remains in good condition, but we must ensure that it stays that way forever.

Appears and disappears as if by magic and well into the municipal district of Oreawater flows permanently. From then on, and depending on the season of the year and the level of rainfall at any given time, there are stretches that are more or less wet and others that are completely dry.

Its tendency is clearly, and hence its other names, to be dry in the deepest part of the gorge that begins to carve after the initial disappearance of its flow into the earth. From the place called The Hatcheries (already on the territory checano) is completely revived and becomes a river that from then until its end is reinforced by continuous inflows from other springs.

I have left for the end what is possibly the most interesting curiosity of this impressive river, which derives from what was explained in the previous paragraph. It is the fact that all these contributions of water mean that the Oceseca, when it delivers its waters to the Tagus, is very large and clearly exceeds its flow. So much so that the river is only a great river from this point onwards, hence the popular saying that the Tagus carries the fame and the Hoz Seca the water.