Arrocampo Reservoir


The Arrocampo Reservoir,, is located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain.
It was created at 1976 to refrigerate the turbines of the Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant.
The nearest municipalities are Almaraz, Romangordo, Saucedilla and Serrejón.
The dam is on the Arrocampo River, very close to where this little river joins the Tagus.

The Arrocampo reservoir as system to refrigerate the Almaraz Nuclear Plant

The refrigeration of the Almaraz nuclear power plant was the first reason for the construction of the reservoir.

The water is taken from the Tagus and cover a U-shaped circuit of 25 km which allows the cooling of the heat generated by the two nuclear reactors of the plant.
The walls of thermic separation are 11 km long and 8 m high. The tops of these walls are used by great cormorants and great egret as standing, resting and sleeping areas.

The Arrocampo reservoir as a wetland

-Phytoplankton and zooplankton
Angling is often practiced on weekend and feast days. There are sometimes a lot of recreational fishermen at the principal access to the reservoir, near the local route Almaraz-Saucedilla.
-Carps


-Common barbel


-Tench
can be watched in Arrocampo
-Gambusia


-Largemouth bass or black bass: this species is very common and the size is often spectacular.


-European eel...


Before the creation of Arrocampo reservoir, there were a lot of wild birds in lands of Almaraz, Saucedilla. White storks, cattle egrets, lesser kestrels... are traditional birds of this area. Now there are two special protection areas: one is the parish church of Saucedilla and the other one is all the Arrocampo reservoir.

Gallery

The Arrocampo reservoir as a [Special Protection Area] (SPA">Special Protection Area">SPA) for wild birdshttp://www.birdinginextremadura.com/birdex/live/rutas-recomendadas/embalse-arrocampo.html Birding in [Extremadura, Ed. Junta de Extremadura]

The Arrocampo ornithologic park is located in the municipality of Saucedilla, near the reservoir. It was designed by the ornithologist Javier Briz.