The Besòs (Catalan pronunciation: [bəˈzɔs]) is a river flowing through Catalonia, Spain, formed by the confluence of the Mogent and Congost rivers. It ends in the Mediterranean. Its full watershed includes the following cities: Aiguafreda, La Garriga, Sant Fost de Campsantelles, Canovelles, Granollers, Montmeló, Mollet del Vallès, Montcada i Reixac, Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Barcelona and Sant Adrià de Besòs. Due to its Mediterranean climate, the river can have an extreme discrepancies in flow depending on the weather.
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The Besòs river has five main tributaries:
Impossible to navigate, the Besós was nonetheless a link between the Catalan coast and the interior. In the tenth century, the Rec Comtal was built to utilize the river for irrigation.
As it passes through a highly industrialized area (Barcelona metropolitan region), it had the dubious honor of being the most contaminated river in Europe during the 1970s and 1980s. Since the mid-1990s, however, the river has been in the process of recovery. The Fòrum Universal de les Cultures, which took place in Barcelona during 2004, allowed the creation of a recreation area called Parc Fluvial del Besòs between the cities of Barcelona, Santa Coloma de Gramenet and Sant Adrià del Besòs.