River Piedras de Orea

River Piedras de Orea

The river of stones of Orea is an accumulation of thousands of angular blocks of quartzite that covers the slope of the San Cristobal Hillalso referred to as the 'river of blocks' or 'river of rocks'. Although named as such, the boulders were not brought by an ancient river or glacier, but accumulated by gravity from nearby quartzite ridges and escarpments.

The action of the ice and the sudden changes in temperature fragmented the hard quartzite, detaching and falling, covering the slope. Between the blocks and the ground, the Enebral streamwhich can even be heard if you pay attention.

In order for a river of stones to form, they have to keep moving as they fall, and in this case, the sandy soil was soaked in water that on cold days froze, increasing its volume and partially raising some of the blocks. This caused the blocks to move slightly by gravity down the slope instead of accumulating in the part closest to the escarpment. Thus, the repetition of this process thousands of times is responsible for the blocks flowing downwards, giving rise to this curious formation.

The river of stones of Orea has a maximum thickness of about four metres and a length of almost one kilometre and in the immediate vicinity there are several recreation areas so that you can get to know it. In addition, the route El arroyo del Enebral takes us to this and other places of interest nearby from the village of Orea.