IberiaNature A guide to the natural history of Spain
By Nick Lloyd - Home - Contact
 

River Deva

The River Deva rises at Fuente Dé in the heart of the Picos de Europa. Fuente Dé is a classic glacial cirque. The ancient tarn has long since filled in and mountain cattle now graze the pasture. The cirque is surrounded on three sides by sheer 700m-high cliffs. A photograph could never do justice to the immensity and oppression of the cliffs. In August, Fuente Dé swarms with tourists, lured by the cable car which will take you from 1,094 metres to 1,847 metres in five terrifying minutes. The river takes its name from a Celtic God of water. Deva has travelled a long way. The word is Sanskrit in origin. To this day, in Hinduism, devas are celestial beings that control forces of nature such as fire, air, and water. The river swells in the spring from the thaw of the Picos. After cutting its way through gorges and ravines it reaches the Atlantic (or the Cantabrian as they call it here) at the Ria de Tinamayor. The estuary serves as the borderline between Asturias and Cantabria. The Deva is 62 kilometres long.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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