Which river flows through Madrid before joining the Jarama?

Which river flows through Madrid before joining the Jarama? The answer is the Manzanares.

The Manzanares rises in the Sierra de Guadarrama, in the Madrid region, and runs for about 92 kilometres. It passes through the western side of Madrid before leaving the city and flowing into the Jarama near Rivas-Vaciamadrid. The Jarama then carries its water to the Tagus.

Madrid’s close relationship with the river goes back centuries. The city was founded by the Moors as a fortress overlooking the Manzanares, and artists including Francisco de Goya depicted everyday life along its banks. During the Spanish Civil War, sections of the river also formed an important defensive line during the Siege of Madrid.

A common mix-up is to name the Jarama itself: the Jarama is the larger receiving river, not the stream that crosses Madrid. Urban sections of the Manzanares were heavily channelled, but later restoration projects improved its ecological condition and public riverfront.