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Levada (Madeira)

Irrigation canal

Levada (Madeira)
Summary

Irrigation canal

Levada near [[Rabaçal
[[Levada dos Tornos]], Madeira

Main article: Aqueduct (water supply)

A levada is an irrigation channel or aqueduct specific to the Portuguese Atlantic region of Madeira. Madeira island is wet in the northwest, but dry in the southeast. In the 16th century the Portuguese started building levadas (aqueducts) to carry water to the agricultural regions in the south. Due to the island's mountainous landscape, building levadas promised to be a difficult venture, often tasked to criminals and convicts from continental Portugal. Many are cut into the mountainsides, accompanied by 25 mi of tunnels, some of which are still accessible.

Today levadas supply water and also provide hydro-electric power. Over 1350 mi of levadas were built and later provided a network of walking paths. Paths can provide easy and relaxing walks through the countryside, while others are narrow, crumbling ledges where a slip could result in injury or death. Some improvements have been made to these pathways following the 2010 Madeira floods and mudslides. Such improvements involved the continuous maintenance of streams, paving trails, and establishing safety fences on dangerous stretches.

History

In Madeira, the levadas originated out of the necessity to bring large amounts of water from the west and northwest of the island to the drier southeast, which is more conductive to habitation and agriculture, such as sugar cane production. They were also used by women in the past to wash clothes in areas where running water was not available at homes. Similar examples can still be found in Iberia, such as some aqueducts in Spain.

In the sixteenth century the Portuguese started building levadas to carry water to the agricultural regions. The most recent were made in the 1940s. Madeira is very mountainous, and building the levadas was often difficult. Many are cut into the sides of mountains, and it was also necessary to dig 25 km of tunnels.

Levadas today

Today the levadas not only supply water to the southern parts of the island, they also provide hydroelectric power. There are more than 1350 mi of levadas and they provide a remarkable network of walking paths. Some provide easy and relaxing walks through beautiful countryside, but others are narrow, crumbling ledges where a slip could result in serious injury or death.

A popular levada to hike is the Levada do Caldeirão Verde which continues as the Levada Caldeirão do Inferno. Altogether it is about 23 mi long. Along both parts there are long sections which may cause hikers to suffer vertigo; and several tunnels for which flashlights and helmets are essential. The Levada do Caniçal is a much easier walk. This levada runs 7+1/8 mi from Maroços to the Caniçal Tunnel. It is known as the mimosa levada because acacias (commonly misnamed mimosas) are found all along the route.

References

References

  1. (13 November 2000). "Madeira: Walking a heavenly tightrope". Telegraph Travel.
  2. Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Levadas of Madeira Island – UNESCO World Heritage Centre". UNESCO.
  3. Secção Regional da Madeira, Tribunal de Contas. (5 February 2011). "Relatório n.º 6/2011-FC/SRMTC".
  4. APCA, Aprender Madeira. "Políticas Ecológicas".
  5. J. and P. Underwood, ''Landscapes of Madeira'' (Sunflower Books) is the most widely used guide to the levadas. It provides detailed instructions and maps covering 42 levadas and other walks.
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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