The “Tirajana” Dam and “La Sorrueda” Palm Grove, located in the middle mountain region of the Southeast of Gran Canaria, between the municipalities of Santa Lucía adnd San Bartolomé de Tirajana, make up an island landscape reference and a particular space of great natural, geomorphological, patrimonial, ethnographic and cultural interest.

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Partially included in the Biosphere Reserve of Gran Canaria, the Grove is a perfect habitat for many diverse species of local fauna and an excellent wildlife observatory.

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THE CRATER AND RAVINE OF TIRAJANA

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“LAS TIRAJANAS”, aboriginal place-name of this region, spans the immense crater (or “caldera”) in the central heights of the island and the deep ravine of Tirajana, carved after thousands of years of running water, that opens towards the Southeast.  

 

The steep walls of this impressive crater, upon which the phonolitic volcano of Risco Blanco stands out, have been declared Natural Monument.

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La presa de Tirajana, a los pies del Macizo de Amurga y a 355 m.s.n.m., embalsa las escorrentías de las ocasionales lluvias que desagua el barranco de Tirajana. Sus aguas, de las que son beneficiarias desde 1617 las Heredades de Aguas de la Acequia Alta de Sardina del Sur y Aldea Blanca, son utilizadas por sus herederos para el riego de fincas agrícolas en el tramo bajo del barranco. 

 

THE TIRAJANA DAM

 

The Tirajana Dam, at the foot of the Amurga Massif and at 355 m a.s.l. (1165 ft), gathers the running water from the ravine of the same name. This water, from which the Water Estates of Sardina del Sur and Aldea Blanca benefit since 1617, is used in plantations in the lower segment of the ravine. 

 

The dam, an impressive work of engineering built between 1966 and 1974 with loose materials and clay, has a surface of 18 ha and a volume of 3,1 Hm3. It measures 44 m in height over the ravine bed (74 m over its foundation) and 160 m in length across the chasm. It is known by its beautiful riprap of natural, multicoloured stone.

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