Altorricón

Infobox City
official_name = Altorricón, Spain | nickname = |

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image_skyline_size = 250px
image_skyline_caption = Main church in Altorricon

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| map_caption = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Spain | subdivision_type1 = Autonomous community | subdivision_name1 = Aragon | subdivision_type2 = Province | subdivision_name2 = Huesca | subdivision_type3 = Comarca
subdivision_name3 = La Litera
subdivision_type4 = Municipality | subdivision_name4 = Altorricón | leader_title = | leader_name = Salvador Plana | area_magnitude = | area_total_km2 = 32.03 | area_land_km2 = | area_water_km2 = | elevation_m = | population_as_of = 2004 | population_note = | population_total = 1476 | population_density_km2 = 46 | timezone = CET | utc_offset = +1 | timezone_DST = CEST | utc_offset_DST = +2 | latitude = | longitude = | website = http://www.altorricon.org | footnotes = |

Altorricón (Catalan El Torricó) is a municipality located in the "comarca" of La Litera/La Llitera in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. With an extension of 32.03 km², the municipal district of Altorricón lays on the southern part of La Llitera, limiting with El Segrià (Almacelles+). The district is surrounded north and south by Tamarite de Litera. The municipality contains the town of Altorricón and the uninhabited towns of "Cuquet", "Montanera" and "Lo Tossal" as well as the old church of "San Bartolomé de Altorricón".

It has two official names "Altorricón" and "el Torricó". [cite web | url = http://www.boa.aragon.es/cgi-bin/BoaAA/BRSCGI?CMD=VERDOC&BASE=BOLE&PIECE=BOLE&DOCR=10&SEC=BUSQUEDA_FECHA&RNG=200&SEPARADOR=&&PUBL=20061230 | title = Decreto Legislativo 2/2006, de 27 de diciembre, del Gobierno de Aragón, por el que se aprueba el texto refundido de la Ley de Delimitación Comarcal de Aragón. | publisher = Boletín Oficial de Aragón | date = 2007-12-27 | accessdate = 2008-07-23] The official name of Altorricón is considered to be incorrect by historians, although most of the population use that form of the name, in either the Spanish form of it "Altorricón" or the Catalan "Altorricó". The name probably derived from occidental Catalan 'Torrico', or small tower, with Al- being a common prefix in Arab names. It's not clear what 'small tower' the name could refer to, but hypothesis point to Castle of Vallbona (Catalan "Castell de Vallbona") situated north west from the town, or maybe some building that no longer exists in the center of the village.

The secondary water channel of "La Mola", derived from the Canal d'Aragó i Catalunya crosses the municipal district diagonally from NW to SE, and is used to irrigate the land all across the territory. Multiple minor channels distribute the water, namely the ravine of "San Bartomeu" or the one of "Clamorelles". A small section in the SW is drained by the torrent of "Oriols" and "Vallbona".

Altorricón, right smack in the middle of the municipality, is crossed by the local road of Tamarite de Litera that springs out north from the national road N240 (Tarragona-San Sebastián). The locals call the portion of the road that heads south to the N240, "la carretera del Butano" (Catalan "carretera del butà") in honor of the butane gas processing station that once existed at the intersection with the N240. The portion of the road that heads up north is simply called, "carretera de Tamarite" (Catalan "carretera de Tamarit").

There is another road starting from the nucleus of the town that heads southwest and ends on Tamarite's railway station linking with the N240, a few kilometers west from where the road to Tamarite split up. The road also links Altorricón with the small community of "La Melusa", and thus locals call the road "carretera de La Melusa".

The local dialect is a variant of Catalan.

References

External links

* [http://www.altorricon.org/ Official website of Altorricon's city hall]
* [http://www.cdaltorricon.com/ Altorricon Soccer Association official website]
* [http://www.acambalachous.com/ Chous&Company; Acambalachous; Malabares, mágia, actuaciones en la calle...]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=altorricon+spain&ie=UTF8&z=12&ll=41.821479,0.413017&spn=0.099527,0.362549&om=1&iwloc=addr/ Google Maps view of Altorricón]