Baix Camp

Baix Camp
Comarca
Coat of arms of Baix Camp Coat of arms
250px
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Catalonia
Province	Tarragona
Capital	Reus
Municipalities	List L'Albiol, L'Aleixar, Alforja, Almoster, Arbolí, L'Argentera, Les Borges del Camp, Botarell, Cambrils, Capafonts, Castellvell del Camp, Colldejou, Duesaigües, La Febró, Maspujols, Mont-roig del Camp, Montbrió del Camp, Prades, Pratdip, Reus, Riudecanyes, Riudecols, Riudoms, La Selva del Camp, Vandellòs i l'Hospitalet de l'Infant, Vilanova d'Escornalbou, Vilaplana, Vinyols i els Arcs
Area
• Total	697.3 km2 (269.2 sq mi)
Population (2014)
• Total	190,249
• Density	270/km2 (710/sq mi)
Demonym(s)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Largest municipality	Reus

Baix Camp is a comarca of Catalonia in northeastern Spain. It is one of the three comarques into which Camp de Tarragona was divided in the comarcal division of 1936.

Baix Camp is located on the coast, between Tarragonès to the northeast and Baix Ebre to the south. It also borders the comarques of Priorat, Ribera d'Ebre, Conca de Barberà, Alt Camp, and Tarragonès.

Population

Almost 150,000 people inhabit Baix Camp. The population has risen gently since the middle of the twentieth century, with population growth averaging 1.5% annually during the last three decades. Growth is not evenly distributed, however, but is strongly focused on Reus, the industrial and commercial centre of the region. Around two third of the inhabitants of Baix Camp live in Reus, which from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries was the second most populous city in Catalonia, after Barcelona. Taking Catalonia as a whole, the place of Reus in the population rankings has now slipped to tenth. Within Baix Camp, the only other municipality with more than 10,000 inhabitants is Cambrils.

Economy

In the agricultural sector almonds and hazelnuts are a major crops, together representing 30% of primary sector production. Viticulture has never regained the level of dominance that it enjoyed before the European Phylloxera epidemic that peaked in the 1870s. High dependency on almonds and hazelnuts nevertheless leaves the entire regional economy vulnerable to declining world market prices that have accompanied increased globalization of the agricultural sector. Some price protection is afforded to growers by protected designation for "Hazelnuts from Reus" which actually covers not just production from Reus but also that from neighboring Alt Camp, Tarragonès, Priorat, Conca de Barberà and Terra Alta.

Municipalities

After the capital Reus, the major cities are Cambrils and Mont-roig del Camp; other significant towns are Riudoms and Selva del Camp.

Smaller municipalities:

• North of Reus, at the foot of Puig d'en Cama: Castellvell del Camp and Almoster.
• In the Mountains of Prades: Prades, Capafonts, Arbolí, and l'Albiol.
• In the valley of the river Maspujols: Vilaplana, l'Aleixar, and Maspujols.
• In the valley of the river Alforja: Alforja, les Borges del Camp, and Vinyols i els Arcs.
• Between the ranges of Puig Marí and Puig-server: Riudecols.
• In the valley of the ravine of Ànima Blanca: Montbrió del Camp, and Botarell.
• Near Mont-roig del Camp: Vilanova d'Escornalbou, Colldejou, and la Torre de Fontaubella
• At the western edge of the comarca: Pratdip and the municipality of Vandellòs i l'Hospitalet de l'Infant.

List of municipalities

Municipality	Population (2014)	Area km2
L'Albiol	458	20.3
L'Aleixar	891	26.1
Alforja	1,859	38.2
Almoster	1,396	6.0
Arbolí	105	20.8
L'Argentera	146	10.1
Les Borges del Camp	2,077	8.2
Botarell	1,100	12.0
Cambrils	33,301	35.2
Capafonts	114	13.4
Castellvell del Camp	2,869	5.2
Colldejou	172	14.5
Duesaigües	239	13.6
La Febró	40	16.1
Maspujols	782	3.7
Mont-roig del Camp	12,148	63.3
Montbrió del Camp	2,650	10.7
Prades	626	32.6
Pratdip	685	36.3
Reus	104,962	52.8
Riudecanyes	1,142	17.1
Riudecols	1,254	19.5
Riudoms	6,546	32.4
La Selva del Camp	5,598	35.3
Vandellòs i l'Hospitalet de l'Infant	6,047	102.7
Vilanova d'Escornalbou	540	17.2
Vilaplana	630	23.2
Vinyols i els Arcs	1,872	10.8
• Total: 28	190,249	697.3

External links

• Official comarcal web site (in Catalan)