Vallès Occidental
Comarca
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Catalonia
Province	Barcelona
Region	Àmbit metropolità de Barcelona
Capital	Sabadell and Terrassa
Municipalities	List Badia del Vallès, 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
Government
• Body	Vallès Occidental Comarcal Council
• President	Ignasi Giménez Renom (PSC)
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	Terrassa
Website	www.ccvoc.cat

Riu Ripoll

Vallès Occidental (Catalan pronunciation: [bəˈʎɛz uksiðənˈtal]) is a comarca (county) in the Barcelona region in Catalonia (Spain). It has two capitals, Sabadell and Terrassa. Along with Vallès Oriental, it forms the historical Vallès region.

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).

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, as well as 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.

References

External links

• Official comarcal web site (in Catalan)

41°33′50″N 2°02′23″E / 41.56389°N 2.03972°E / 41.56389; 2.03972