Genil River, Cenes de la Vega, Granada, Andalusia, Spain

Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):	37° 9' 15'' North , 3° 31' 50'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):	37.15444,-3.53056
Other regions containing this locality:	Iberian Peninsula
Köppen climate type:	Csa : Hot-summer Mediterranean climate

The river Genil is the most important of those that cross the city of Granada, it collects the waters and sediments of the slopes of the north face of the peaks Mulhacén and Veleta that are the highest peaks of Sierra Nevada. In its descent erodes this mountainous maziso and gives shape to the valleys that are formed in its passage. This same process of erosion, in the geological complex of the zone, formed by several units of different and superposed materials, is the one that deposited the materials that contained gold.

The massif forming the Sierra (Nevado-Filabride complex), formed by the Veleta and Mulhacén mantles, emerged by breaking the remaining strata that formed part of the geography, such as the so-called Alpujárride, formed mainly by carbonate rocks of the triassic medium- superior, that are those that appear at the moment around the massif.

Product of the erosion of the mantle Mulhacen formed the deposit of Miocene conglomerates and the so-called ALHAMBRA conglomerate with about 200 meters of power (where the internationally known monument is located), which was formed in the Pliocene and that is where the Alluvial gold

The gold that is in this deposit, is formed by flakes of less than one millimeter and occasionally nuggets of 2 cms have been found.

José Miguel Sola


El rio Genil es el mas importante de los que atraviesan la ciudad de Granada, recoge las aguas y sedimentos de las laderas de la cara norte de los picos Mulhacén y Veleta que son las cumbres mas altas de Sierra Nevada. En su bajada erosiona este maziso montañoso y da forma a los valles que se forman a su paso. Este mismo proceso de erosión, en el complejo geológico de la zona, formado por varias unidades de materiales distintos y superpuestos, es el que depositó los materiales que contenian oro.

El macizo que forma la Sierra llamado complejo Nevado-Filabride, formado a su vez por los mantos Veleta y Mulhacén, emergió rompiendo el resto de estratos que formaban parte de la geografía, como el llamado Alpujárride, formado principalmente por rocas carbonatadas del triásico medio-superior, que son las que aparecen en la actualidad alrededor del macizo.

Producto de la erosión del manto Mulhacen se formó el depósito de conglomerados del mioceno y el llamado conglomerado ALHAMBRA con unos 200 metros de potencia, (donde está situado el monumento internacionalmente conocido), que se formó en el plioceno y que es donde está contenido el oro aluvial.

El oro que se encuentra en este depósito, está formado por escamillas de menos de un milímetro y ocasionalmente se han encontrado pepitas de 2 cms.

José Miguel Sola

Mineral List

1 valid mineral.

Regional Geology

This geological map and associated information on rock units at or nearby to the coordinates given for this locality is based on relatively small scale geological maps provided by various national Geological Surveys. This does not necessarily represent the complete geology at this locality but it gives a background for the region in which it is found.

Click on geological units on the map for more information. Click here to view full-screen map on Macrostrat.org

Holocene 0 - 0.0117 Ma ID: 2508272

Age: Anthropocene (0 - 0.0117 Ma) Description: Gravel, sand, clay, and silt. Alluvial, playas, coastal spits Lithology: Gravel, conglomerate, sand and silt Reference: Mapa Geológico de la Península Ibérica, Baleares y Canarias a escala 1:1.000.000. Instituto Geológico y Minero de España. [77]

Data and map coding provided by Macrostrat.org, used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License

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