The river is notorious for its floods. The flood which occurred on 14 October 1957, known as the Great Flood of Valencia, flooded large parts of the city of Valencia, and caused a great deal of damage to both life and property. To prevent this from happening in the future, a diversion project was devised, completed in 1969, and the river was divided in two at the western city limits. During floods, most of the water is diverted southwards along a new course that skirts the city, until it meets the Mediterranean. The old course of the river has been turned into a central green-space for the city, a cultural attraction known as the Garden of the Turia. Not unlike the LA River, the man-made diversion channel south of the city is often found dry, since water primarily flows during periods of flooding. Under ordinary flow rates the water is directed through irrigation channels to help cultivate the fertile plain of Valencia. Throughout history the water of the River Turia has been used to irrigate the region. In modern times, a complex network of irrigation has been created, with the main axis centred on the diversion project. Beyond irrigation, these channels also take runoff and surplus water from the Turia to the wetlands and marshes around Valencia.
Attractions Along the old Course
The old riverbed is now a verdant sunken park that allows cyclists and pedestrians to traverse much of the city without the use of roads. The park, called the 'Garden of the Turia' boasts numerous ponds, paths, fountains, flowers, football pitches, cafés, artworks, climbing walls, an athletics track, a zen garden and more. The many bridges overhead carry traffic across the park. Towards the park's eastern end of the river course is the Valencian Music Palace. Also towards the eastern end is the Gulliver Park , a children's adventure playground featuring a huge fibreglass model of Lemuel Gulliver tied to the ground with ropes. The model is constructed such that the ropes are climbable. In addition, Gulliver's clothes form slides and ladders on which to play. Marking the park's eastern extreme is Valencia's neo-futuristic architectural and cultural complex, the City of Arts and Sciences, featuring the opera housePalau de les Arts Reina Sofia, an cinemax/panetarium L'Hemisferic, the science museumMuseu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe, and an oceanographic park L'Oceanogràfic. Two Metrovalencia stations lie beneath the riverbed, with entrances on either bank: Túria and Alameda.
