Vallès Occidental

Comarca

Flag

Coat of arms

Spain

Sabadell and Terrassa

Municipalities

Area

• Total

583.1 km² (225.1 sq mi)

Population (2014)

• Total

899,532

• Density

1,500/km² (4,000/sq mi)

Demonym(s)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

Largest municipality

Sabadell

Riu Ripoll

Vallès Occidental is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. It is unique among the comarques in that the two cities Sabadell and Terrassa (which are of roughly equal size) share the role of comarcal capital. Along with Vallès Oriental it forms the grand comarca of Vallès.

Physical geography

Vallès Occidental borders the comarques of Bages (to the north), Vallès Oriental (to the north and east), Baix Llobregat (to the west), and Barcelonès (to the south). It centers on the Catalan prelittoral depression, limited to the west by the River Llobregat and to the east by the River Caldes. The northern part of the comarca is mountainous. From west to east, it contains part of the Obac range (924m altitude at Castellsapera); the massifs of Sant Llorenç de Munt (1095m at La Mola and 1053m at Montcau) and Puig de la Creu (664m); and the Sant Sadurní (954m) and Farell cliffs (789m). At the south of the comarca is the Collserola range (512m), which forms part of the Catalan Littoral. Between these various ranges is the valley that gives its name to the comarca. The valley actually composes two separate watersheds, the basins of the Llobregat and Besòs.

The Llobregat watershed lies to the west of the axis that runs from Obac to Tibidabo (culminating point of the Collserola range), passing through Matadepera, Sant Quirze del Vallès, Bellaterra, and Sant Cugat del Vallès. Tributaries of the Llobregat include the Canyamssos, the Rubí and the Vallvidrera. East of that axis, the watershed of the Besòs includes the rivers Ripoll and Caldes, (the latter forming the eastern border of the comarca).

Major natural parks

Parc Natural de Sant Llorenç de Munt i Serra de l'Obac
Parc de Collserola

Hiking trails

Vallès Occidental has several notable official hiking trails, known as "senders de gran recorregut".

GR-6: Barcelona - Montserrat (Classic route to Montserrat).
GR-96: Barcelona - Montserrat (Roman road to Montserrat).
GR-97: Abrera - Sant Celoni (From the Llobregat to the Tordera).
GR-173: Circumnavigation of Vallès Occidental.

Human and economic geography

Industry is concentrated in the south, coinciding with the flattest land in the comarca. The principal industrial cities are the co-capitals (Sabadell and Terrassa), Rubí and Cerdanyola del Vallès. The most important industries are textiles, mecànica , metallurgy, machinery, material elèctric , construction, chemicals, paper, and the processing of food products. An industrial crisis at the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s led to a greater importance for the commercial and service sectors, especially computer-related work.

The north remains primarily rural. Many of the residences there now function as second homes.

Municipalities

Municipality	Population (2014)^[1]	Area km²^[1]
Badia del Vallès	13,553	0.9
Barberà del Vallès	32,550	8.3
Castellar del Vallès	23,440	44.9
Castellbisbal	12,434	31.0
Cerdanyola del Vallès	57,402	30.6
Gallifa	202	16.3
Matadepera	8,841	25.4
Montcada i Reixac	34,394	23.5
Palau-solità i Plegamans	14,454	14.9
Polinyà	8,238	8.8
Rellinars	726	17.8
Ripollet	37,233	4.3
Rubí	74,353	32.3
Sabadell	207,444	37.8
Sant Cugat del Vallès	87,118	48.2
Sant Llorenç Savall	2,361	41.1
Sant Quirze del Vallès	19,549	14.1
Santa Perpètua de Mogoda	25,409	15.8
Sentmenat	8,645	28.8
Terrassa	215,517	70.2
Ullastrell	2,056	7.3
Vacarisses	6,218	40.7
Viladecavalls	7,395	20.1
• Total: 23	899,532	583.1

Transportation

Much of Catalonia's transportation network passes through Vallès Occidental, with roads, railroads, etc. crossing the valley in various directions.

Motorways

AP-7 crosses Vallès in an east-west direction. Heading west, it connects Vallès with Tarragona, València and the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula, similarly to the A-2/AP-2 (which connects Barcelona, Lleida, and Zaragoza). Heading east, it connects Vallès with the province of Girona and with France.
C-58 crosses the comarca south to north, connecting Barcelona with Manresa by wy of Montcada i Reixac, Ripollet, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Sabadell, and Terrassa.
Manresa, Terrassa, and Barcelona are also connected by C-17 or the Vallvidrera Tunnels, by way of Sant Cugat del Vallès and Rubí.
C-33 connects Montcada i Reixac and Mollet del Vallès, connecting the northern part of Barcelona with autopista AP-7 to the northeast.

Highways

N-150, the principal highway of the comarca, crosses south to north, connecting Barcelona to Terrassa by way of Montcada i Reixac, Ripollet, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barberà del Vallès, and Sabadell. Beyond Terrassa, various carreteres comarcals complete the comarca's network:
C-1413 starts at Molins de Rei, connects to the N-II and N-340 and the motorway A-2, and passes through Rubí, Sabadell, and Sentmenat before connecting finally to the N-152 at the heights of Centelles.
C-1415 connects Vilafranca del Penedès (N-340), Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, and Martorell (A-7, N-II) to Granollers and Mataró (N-II, A-19) passing through Terrassa, Matadepera, Castellar del Vallès, and Sentmenat.
C-155 connects Sabadell to Granollers, passing through Polinyà and Palau de Plegamans.

Railroads

Both railroad companies that operate in Catalonia have lines in Vallès Occidental. RENFE's Barcelona-Lleida line passes through Manresa. The Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya have the "Metro del Vallès", connecting Barcelona to Sabadell and Terrassa.

Airports

Most air traffic for Vallès Occidental comes through the Prat airport in neighboring Baix Llobregat. The Sabadell Airport is used for sport flying, as a base for firemen, and for air freight.

References

1 2 "El municipi en xifres". Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya. Retrieved 2015-05-25.

External links

Official comarcal web site (in Catalan)

Vallès Occidental

Barcelonès

Comarques of Catalonia

Comarques of Autonomous Community of Catalonia	Alt Camp Alt Empordà Alt Penedès Alt Urgell Alta Ribagorça Anoia Aran Bages Baix Camp Baix Ebre Baix Empordà Baix Llobregat Baix Penedès Barcelonès Berguedà Cerdanya Conca de Barberà Garraf Garrigues Garrotxa Gironès Maresme Moianès Montsià Noguera Osona Pallars Jussà Pallars Sobirà Pla de l'Estany Pla d'Urgell Priorat Ribera d'Ebre Ripollès Segarra Segrià Selva Solsonès Tarragonès Terra Alta Urgell Vallès Occidental Vallès Oriental

Historical comarques of Northern Catalonia, France	Alta Cerdanya Capcir Conflent Rosselló Vallespir

Coordinates: 41°33′50″N 2°02′23″E / 41.56389°N 2.03972°E / 41.56389; 2.03972

Authority control	VIAF: 235204004 GND: 4387964-0

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