The Pontón de la Oliva is a Spanish dam located in the Ayllón mountain range, northeast of the Community of Madrid and northwest of the province of Guadalajara. It was built in 1857 and is currently disused. This dam is the sixth and last in the course of the Lozoya River, and is the oldest of the entire system of dams and canalizations of the Canal de Isabel II. This canal supplies drinking water to Madrid and a large part of the community. The height of the Pontón de la Oliva Dam is approximately 30 meters.
If you are interested in exploring the area, there are routes that take you to the Cárcavas de Pontón de la Oliva, a curious geological formation in the Community of Madrid. In addition, you can enjoy a route along the Pontón de la Oliva to the Lozoya River, which offers impressive views. I hope you find this information interesting! 😊

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Juanjo Alonso Kapi

February 8, 2023

Medieval Madrid was a bustling urban center that needed large supplies of water. The Magerit or place of waters, according to its Muslim founders, was supplied with "water trips". It is a system of underground galleries to carry water from the headwaters of the rivers to the 54 fountains in the city. There it was collected by a thousand watermen who sold the liquid from the houses. The system worked until the middle of the 19th century. The population multiplied disproportionately, surpassing 200,000 inhabitants in the reign of Isabel II, and the network of "water trips" was insufficient to supply the people of Madrid. In addition, the old and dilapidated canals built a thousand years before were a source of infections and epidemics. The historical tour of the Canal de Isabel II covers the facilities of the Pontón de la Oliva, with information panels on the history of the dam, architectural details, surrounding buildings, conduction systems and other curiosities of the first historical milestone that allowed the people of Madrid to have access to drinking water. The Canal de Isabel II has 14 reservoirs in the valleys of the Lozoya, Jarama, Alberche, Guadalix, Sorbe and Manzanares rivers.

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Andrés Escribano Abad

October 23, 2024

Beautiful place where people go for a walk or to climb.

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Informations

Elevation 730 m

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Sunday 19 October

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Max wind speed: 0.0 km/h

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Take Me There

Location: Valdepeñas De La Sierra, Sierra, Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha, Spain

Pontón de la Oliva Dam and Cliffside Pathways

1. Hiking loop from Valdepeñas de la Sierra

2. Hiking loop from Valdepeñas de la Sierra

3. Cañada de la Caleriza Trail loop from Valdepeñas de la Sierra

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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