The Carraixet ravine is, along with the Túria River and the ravine of Torrent, the backbone that has configured the alluvial plain of Valencia. Boxed in and deep in its final stretch, its floods and high waters have been a heavy formative element in shaping the landscape of the adjacent villages between “Tavernes Blanques” (White Taverns) and Massamagrell. It must be said however, that the historical clash between Cequia to Puçol and Dry River, so named by the feudal chronicles, has been a decisive factor in the organization and division of large open irrigated spaces between the Paterna and Puçol. Upstream vs. downstream.

A basin drains from the sandstone summits of the Serra Calderona. There it gets its name of the Canyon of Olocau. It crosses the plain of Bètera with an ample twisted (braided) fluvial channel and is remarkably close to the arrival in the agricultural gardens of València, although its potential flood area extends from Tavernes Blanques to Massamagrell.

For centuries past, its waters have brought tragedy often to the people of the agricultural gardens. A first-hand testimony to the wealth of those past overflowing waters can be seen in the remains of “Paretó” (scaffolding) of Alfara, the engineering work of the 18th century, which was built for the defense of the village of Alfara. Closer to the present, many people still remember the year 1949, when a spectacular flood stormed across the bridge of the Barcelona road and caused several fatalities. Recent pipeline works, excessively hard in the lower stretch, should prevent future flooding.
The Irrigation Canal of Montcada exceeds this great natural barrier thanks to popular siphon of Carraixet -a great spot to siphon thanks to bed of the ravine between the Patriarch Alfara and Vinalesa - , built by the community of irrigators in 1632, and possibly one of the most important works of private hydraulic engineering of Valencian lands during this time. From this geographical location, the appearance of water occurs often in the bed of the ravine, which becomes increasingly plentiful until reaching its outlet, near the Hermitage of “Peixets” (Little Fish) in the territory of Alboraia. Traditionally, the waters of this last stretch were harnessed for irrigation by the Franks and the outliers of Rascanya, across fields or the popular dams of Carraixet.

MEDIEVAL PERIOD
(Al-Andalus) [711-1238]

MEDIEVAL PERIOD
(Kingdom of València) [1239-1453]

MODERN PERIOD [1454-1789]

CONTEMPORARY PERIOD [1790-2012]