ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

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Minas de Riotinto is a municipality located in the province of Huelva, Andalusia. The municipality has a population of. Its surface area is 23.31 km ² and its density is 176.4 people per square mile (176.4 / km ²). The main urban core also includes the Alta de la Mesa and La Dehesa districts. It is located at an altitude of 416 metres and 74 kilometres by road from the capital of the province, Huelva.

Historically, the municipality has been very linked to mining activity, being in fact one of the main cores of the Riotinto-Nerva mining basin. Already during the Antiquity, the area was a major mining district, especially during the Roman era, which came to establish various farms and a core population. It was from the last third of the century, after the acquisition of the mines by the Rio Tinto Company Limited (RTC), when the region experienced a great transformation. The historic deposits began to be exploited on a much larger scale, while creating various chemical industries and a major railway network. In addition, a large number of immigrants from other areas of the Iberian peninsula were installed in the municipality to work in the mines, resulting in a significant increase in the population of Riotinto.

This apogee dynamic was maintained until the second half of the century, during which time the property of the mining-industrial complex passed to Spanish hands. For years, Minas de Riotinto became one of the most important municipalities in the province of Huelva. From the 1970s the traditional economic activity of the region began to decline, starting a strong crisis. During the last decades of the century, the depletion of mines and the fall in mineral prices on the international market marked the decline of the region, which affected the municipality. The lack of economic prospects has resulted in a demographic crisis, driven by emigration outside the Mining Basin.

Symbols
Shield: In the field of azur a beak and a miner's mace in a bright yellow mask, and in the tip of silver waves and gilles. At the doorbell, royal crown closed.
Flag: Four parallel and perpendicular stripes to the pole, the first, blue, 7 / 10 wide, and the remaining, white, red and white 1 / 10 each of the same proportion. Centrated and overlaid local arms shield.

Geography
Minas de Riotinto is located in the centre of the onubense region of the Minera Basin, at an average altitude of 416 meters above sea level. The municipal term is composed of the city centre of Minas de Riotinto itself, and the small urban centres of Alto de la Mesa and La Dehesa; agricultural areas with crops; forest and natural areas; and areas linked to the activity of the mining basin.

Physical environment
As in other areas of the region, in physical geography