Also, though the lake is still the biggest in Spain, it is only a small fraction of its size when it was discovered by the Romans and is even small compared to the size it was two centuries ago.
In addition to fishing, the Albufera has also been used to cultivate rice since approximately the 18th century. While on a tour of the region, my guide explained to us that at that time, the farmers living in the area took thousands and thousands of sacks filled with dirt and threw them into the river to help create the original rice fields. The rice they cultivated became an essential dietary staple in Valencia, largely served in the form of paella. Additionally, the majority of the rice eaten by people in the rest of Spain was exported from the Valencian region.
An further benefit to the cultivation of rice in the Albufera is that the rice fields provide food, purified water, and shelter to many plant and animal species that may otherwise have died off or been forced to leave the region. In this way, the rice fields help sustain not only the human population but also the animal populations of the region.
In Valencia, it only rains approximately 11 days per year. For comparison, I think there have been periods during my time in Galicia where it has rained 11 times per 11 days! As such, scarcity of water and droughts can be a problem both for the people and the plant and animal populations of the region.
