The largest river by discharge wholly within Spain, ending in a broad delta on the Mediterranean.
Length
930 km
Source
Cantabrian Mountains
Mouth
Mediterranean Sea (Ebro Delta)
Continent
Europe
Countries
Spain
Did you know?
The name of the Iberian Peninsula itself may derive from the Ebro ('Iberus') river.
Little-known fact
Its delta is one of the most important wetlands in the western Mediterranean, alive with flamingos and rice paddies.
Highlights
- Spain's greatest river by flow
- May have given Iberia its name
- Ends in a flamingo-rich delta
Life in the Ebro
The fish and animals, waterbirds and water plants — including some of the rarest — that this water supports.
Animals & fish
Wels catfish
A monstrous European catfish that can top 2.5 m and has learned to beach itself to catch pigeons.
Eurasian otter
A sleek, playful hunter whose return to a river is a sign the water has run clean again.
Waterbirds
Grey heron
A patient, statue-still angler that stalks the shallows of rivers and lakes across the Old World.
Mallard
The familiar green-headed dabbling duck — ancestor of most domestic ducks — found on waters worldwide.
Interactive · 3D journey
Journey of a river · source → sea
Every river runs the same great journey — from an icy mountain spring, down through gorges and looping meanders, to a wide delta where it meets the sea. Tap a stage to follow the water downstream.
Tip: hover to tilt the valley · tap a stage to float downstream
The Source
Every river begins high up — in a mountain spring, a melting glacier or a boggy upland. The water is cold, clear and fast, tumbling down the steepest ground of its whole journey.
Landforms here