The region of el Solsonès, which is in central Catalunya, maintains close affinities and human relations with the neighbouring regions of el Bages and el Berguedà. It also borders with l'Alt Urgell, la Noguera, l'Anoia i la Segarra. It includes l'Alt Cardener, which is linked with the Pyrenees Mountains through the Port del Comte, the el Verd and the d'Ensija mountain passes. It also included the highlands of la Ribera Salada and one extreme of the lands known as l'Alta Segarra. Towards the centre, in the Riu Negre river basin, a lush flatter land is to be found which surrounds the city of Solsona. The most important fluvial current in the region is the river Cardener, a tributary to the Llobregat River, which crosses the easterly most part of the region from North to South; once outside the boundaries it joins with the waters from Ora, enriched from the source by the waters of Valls, in lands that border on to el Berguedà. Another current worthy of mention is the Ribera Salada, which collects the torrents from Canalda, Odèn, and Rialb and is a tributary to the river Segre, which also collects the water from other small streams coming from the west, such as the Pinell or the Llanera streams. The region is characterised by the variety and beauty of the countryside, which in the higher mountainous part offers peaks, ravines, and crags with singular shapes that hide valleys and rifts with abundant water and vegetation and small villages. Many corners of the wide Vall de Lord and the Vall d'Ora are renowned for their natural beauty, especially for their woodlands, the large pine forests which alternate with pastures and the farmlands which surround the centuries old farmhouses.

Antoni Pladevall i Font
Institut d'Estudis Catalans