Vallès Occidental

Vallès Occidental
Vallès Occidental
Comarca
	Flag Coat of arms
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Catalonia
Province	Barcelona
Capital	Sabadell and Terrassa
Municipalities	List Barberà del Vallès, Castellar del Vallès, Castellbisbal, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Gallifa, Matadepera, Montcada i Reixac, Palau-solità i Plegamans, Polinyà, Rellinars, Ripollet, Rubí, Sabadell, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Sant Llorenç Savall, Sant Quirze del Vallès, Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, Sentmenat, Terrassa, Ullastrell, Vacarisses, Viladecavalls;
Area
• Total	583.1 km2 (225.1 sq mi)
Population (2014)
• Total	899,532
• Density	1,500/km2 (4,000/sq mi)
Demonym
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Largest municipality	Sabadell
Website	www.ccvoc.cat

Vallès Occidental is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. It is unique among the comarques in that the two cities Sabadell and Terrassa (which are of roughly equal size) share the role of comarcal capital. Along with Vallès Oriental it forms the grand comarca of Vallès.

Physical geography

Vallès Occidental borders the comarques of Bages (to the north), Vallès Oriental (to the north and east), Baix Llobregat (to the west), and Barcelonès (to the south). It centers on the Catalan prelittoral depression, limited to the west by the River Llobregat and to the east by the River Caldes. The northern part of the comarca is mountainous. From west to east, it contains part of the Obac range (924m altitude at Castellsapera); the massifs of Sant Llorenç de Munt (1095m at La Mola and 1053m at Montcau) and Puig de la Creu (664m); and the Sant Sadurní (954m) and Farell cliffs (789m). At the south of the comarca is the Collserola range (512m), which forms part of the Catalan Littoral. Between these various ranges is the valley that gives its name to the comarca. The valley actually composes two separate watersheds, the basins of the Llobregat and Besòs.

The Llobregat watershed lies to the west of the axis that runs from Obac to Tibidabo (culminating point of the Collserola range), passing through Matadepera, Sant Quirze del Vallès, Bellaterra, and Sant Cugat del Vallès. Tributaries of the Llobregat include the Canyamssos, the Rubí and the Vallvidrera. East of that axis, the watershed of the Besòs includes the rivers Ripoll and Caldes, (the latter forming the eastern border of the comarca).

Major natural parks

Hiking trails

Vallès Occidental has several notable official hiking trails, known as "senders de gran recorregut".

GR-6: Barcelona - Montserrat (Classic route to Montserrat).
GR-96: Barcelona - Montserrat (Roman road to Montserrat).
GR-97: Abrera - Sant Celoni (From the Llobregat to the Tordera).
GR-173: Circumnavigation of Vallès Occidental.

Human and economic geography

Industry is concentrated in the south, coinciding with the flattest land in the comarca. The principal industrial cities are the co-capitals (Sabadell and Terrassa), Rubí and Cerdanyola del Vallès. The most important industries are textiles, mechanical engineering, metallurgy, machinery, electrical equipment, construction, chemicals, paper, and the processing of food products. An industrial crisis at the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s led to a greater importance for the commercial and service sectors, especially computer-related work.

The north remains primarily rural. Many of the residences there now function as second homes.

Municipalities

Municipality	Population (2014)^[1]	Area km²^[1]
Badia del Vallès	13,553	0.9
Barberà del Vallès	32,550	8.3
Castellar del Vallès	23,440	44.9
Castellbisbal	12,434	31.0
Cerdanyola del Vallès	57,402	30.6
Gallifa	202	16.3
Matadepera	8,841	25.4
Montcada i Reixac	34,394	23.5
Palau-solità i Plegamans	14,454	14.9
Polinyà	8,238	8.8
Rellinars	726	17.8
Ripollet	37,233	4.3
Rubí	74,353	32.3
Sabadell	207,444	37.8
Sant Cugat del Vallès	87,118	48.2
Sant Llorenç Savall	2,361	41.1
Sant Quirze del Vallès	19,549	14.1
Santa Perpètua de Mogoda	25,409	15.8
Sentmenat	8,645	28.8
Terrassa	215,517	70.2
Ullastrell	2,056	7.3
Vacarisses	6,218	40.7
Viladecavalls	7,395	20.1
• Total: 23	899,532	583.1

Transportation

Much of Catalonia's transportation network passes through Vallès Occidental, with roads, railroads, etc. crossing the valley in various directions.

Motorways

AP-7 crosses Vallès in an east-west direction. Heading west, it connects Vallès with Tarragona, València and the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula, similarly to the A-2/AP-2 (which connects Barcelona, Lleida, and Zaragoza). Heading east, it connects Vallès with the province of Girona and with France.
C-58 crosses the comarca south to north, connecting Barcelona with Manresa by wy of Montcada i Reixac, Ripollet, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Sabadell, and Terrassa.
Manresa, Terrassa, and Barcelona are also connected by C-17 or the Vallvidrera Tunnels, by way of Sant Cugat del Vallès and Rubí.
C-33 connects Montcada i Reixac and Mollet del Vallès, connecting the northern part of Barcelona with autopista AP-7 to the northeast.

Highways

N-150, the principal highway of the comarca, crosses south to north, connecting Barcelona to Terrassa by way of Montcada i Reixac, Ripollet, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barberà del Vallès, and Sabadell. Beyond Terrassa, various carreteres comarcals complete the comarca's network:
C-1413 starts at Molins de Rei, connects to the N-II and N-340 and the motorway A-2, and passes through Rubí, Sabadell, and Sentmenat before connecting finally to the N-152 at the heights of Centelles.
C-1415 connects Vilafranca del Penedès (N-340), Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, and Martorell (A-7, N-II) to Granollers and Mataró (N-II, A-19) passing through Terrassa, Matadepera, Castellar del Vallès, and Sentmenat.
C-155 connects Sabadell to Granollers, passing through Polinyà and Palau de Plegamans.

Railroads

Both railroad companies that operate in Catalonia have lines in Vallès Occidental. RENFE's Barcelona-Lleida line passes through Manresa. The Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya have the "Metro del Vallès", connecting Barcelona to Sabadell and Terrassa.

Airports

Most air traffic for Vallès Occidental comes through Prat airport in neighboring Baix Llobregat. Sabadell Airport is used for sport flying, as a base for firemen, and for air freight.