Torrejón de Ardoz

Sister cities

• Bir Gandus
• Wuhu

History

While there is no certainty of the origin of Torrejón de Ardoz, it probably dates from the 12th century, associated to fortifications built to protect Alcalá de Henares. It was part of the Land of Alcalá for all purposes until 1554, when it was granted the status of town. In the 16th century, the Casa Grande was built, where several Spanish princes stayed while studying at the University of Alcala. In 1843 it was the place of a short battle between general Ramón Narvaez and senator Antonio Seoane, as part of the rebellion against Espartero. The United States Air Force jointly occupied the Torrejón Air Base, installed in 1955, under agreements made with Francisco Franco. The base was subject of criticism since its beginnings and a meeting place of pacifist demonstrations attended by progressives and ecologists. One of the election platforms of Felipe González's Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) was to close the base to the American fighter wing. Once González became prime minister, the lease of the then 401st Tactical Fighter Wing (now the 401st Air Expeditionary Group) was not renewed and the F-16 fighter wing left the base in the early 1990s. At the end of the 20th century, the city experienced strong industrial growth, which attracted thousands of workers. This led to rapid urban growth.

Geography

It is located to the east of the city of Madrid, near the A-2, the highway connecting Madrid and Barcelona. With the city located at the right-bank (north) of the Henares the relief of the municipality gently decreases in elevation from north to south. Three small creeks pass through the municipality emptying into the Henares. From West to East: Arroyo del Valle, Arroyo Pelayo, and Arroyo Ardoz. The highest point lies in the North of the municipality, standing at 623 m above sea level. The municipality has a total area of 32.49 km2. Torrejón de Ardoz has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSk) with cool winters, hot summers and precipitation concentrated in the autumn and spring seasons. As in other parts of the east and south of the Community of Madrid, the aridity is notable. Snow, although rare, can occur in some winters.

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  34,041
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  31,851
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  29,976
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  29,286
• Spotless Starling

  Sturnus unicolor Temminck, 1820 · Aves
  25,614
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  21,867
• Monk Parakeet

  Myiopsitta monachus (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  19,189
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  18,255

Most recent

• M 3.4 — 2013-11-05
  2 km SSE of Alcorcón, Spain
• M 2.6 — 2008-06-21
  7 km SW of Guadalix de la Sierra, Spain
• M 3.5 — 2008-05-06
  5 km E of Tembleque, Spain
• M 2.9 — 2008-04-28
  Spain
• M 4.1 — 2008-04-28
  4 km ENE of Tembleque, Spain
• M 3.2 — 2008-02-26
  1 km NE of Tembleque, Spain