Life Canal de Castilla

Society

The Canal of Castile/Canal de Castilla flows through three provinces: Palencia, Valladolid and Burgos. More than 95% of the canal lies in the first two provinces and it passes through a total of 37 towns, 26 in Palencia, 9 in Valladolid and 2 in Burgos.

The population density of the area is very low, about 19 inhabitants/km2. Despite the construction of the Canal, the regions edging the canal have experienced the same loss of population to major urban centres as the provinces where the canal passes.

On the North/Norte and Campos branches, the ratio of adults to young people sharply favours adults, although the adult-to-young people ratio is lower on the South branch because of the proximity of the city of Valladolid.

Farming weighs heavily in the occupational profile of the region and part of the small industrial companies present in the area and, to a lesser degree, the service sector, industry and construction are dependent on agriculture.

Although the primary purpose of the canal as it was conceived was to transport bulk goods, other uses appeared later, such as energy production for mills and fulleries—which is now completely superseded by modern factories—or supplying water for consumption and irrigation. Today the canal provides water to irrigate 72 square miles (18,600 hectares) of land and drinking water for all the bordering towns, including cities like Palencia and Valladolid.