river in eastern Spain, rising in the Universales Mountains north of Cuenca city. It flows in a southerly and then easterly direction for 309 miles (498 km) through Cuenca, Albacete, and Valencia provinces and into the Gulf of Valencia, at Cullera. Beyond Cuenca its valley widens and then narrows into a series of gorges as the river plunges over the edge of the southern Meseta Central. The Alarcón dam is located on its upper course, and other dams on its lower course produce electricity, supply water to Valencia city, and irrigate the coastal plains. The waters of the Júcar irrigate a large section of the plain of La Ribera, from Alberique to the lagoon of La Albufera, mostly under orange groves and rice fields. The stream has had a great tendency to flood.