Elevador de Aguas de Gordejuela
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| Elevador de Aguas de Gordejuela | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Status | ruins |
| Type | pumping station |
| Location | Los Realejos, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain |
| Coordinates | 28°23′56″N 16°35′09″W / 28.39889°N 16.58583°W |
| Opened | 1903 |
El Elevador de Aguas de Gordejuela, also known as Casa Hamilton, is an industrial ruin near Los Realejos, Tenerife. It was built in 1903 by the Hamilton company to pump water from the Gordejuela springs to banana plantations in the Orotava Valley. The system used the first steam engine on Tenerife.
It was built on the former location of the Juan de Gordejuela mill, adjacent to the Gordejuela waterfalls. In 1902 the British company Hamilton House (Casa Hamilton) bought all of the shares of the Gordejuela water society,[1] of which it had been the main investor since 1898,[2] and started the construction of the water lift.[1] The system was designed by José Galván Balaguer, a military engineer, along with León de Torres and León Huerta.[1]
The system was designed to raise water from the Gordejuela springs to the top of the cliff, some 200 metres (660 ft) above sea level,[1] so that the fresh water could be used in banana plantations in the Orotava Valley, as well as to power a flour mill.[3]
The construction of the complex cost around 1 million Spanish pesetas,[4] and included the installation of the first steam engine on Tenerife.[1]