[1] The Almanzora river rises on the northern slope of the Sierra de Los Filabres on the border between the provinces of Granada and Almeria.

It passes through the cities of Seron, Tíjola, Purchena Cantoria, Albox, Arboleas, and Zurgena, and passes near the town of Huercal Overa, and through the town of Cuevas del Almanzora before emptying into the Mediterranean Sea in Punta del Rio, between Palomares and Villaricos, after a journey of 90 kilometres (56 mi).

[citation needed] The Almanzora basin is bounded to the south by the Sierra de los Filabres, which rises to 2,168 metres (7,113 ft).

Toward the north and east, the watershed is that of Segura (via the rambla de Chirivel and rio Guadalentin).

The Ancient Romans called it the Surbo, from Latin flumen superbum, "superb river", for its terrible floods.