Yaso

Yaso is situated south of the Sierra de Guara and is easily reached from the main road between Barbastro and Huesca. Coming from Barbastro, turn right in Peraltilla and drive towards Azara, then Abiego, Bierge, Morrano and eventually Yaso where there is also a small camping site. Alternatively leave the main road in Angüés and drive towards Casbas, Sieso and then Labata. The mill is indicated on many maps, but it is probably best to ask for directions before you start walking. The walk from Labata is a bit longer but really much more enjoyable.
The mill is on the Río Formiga.

Pictures: 25.v.2004

(1) Mill in the valley of the Río Formiga

(2) Waterworks of the mill of Yaso

The mill is indicated on the IGN-map (anno 1952) with the caption Fabrica de electricidad. Powerlines are drawn from the mill towards Panzano and Labata but it is not clear to where exactly the net reached. Today only two outer walls of the construction are still erect (pics 7, 8). Nothing of the contents is preserved and only a single tube indicates that this was more than a shack.

The mill (yellow dot indicates position) may be dead, but the water supply system did survive and is used to water the kitchen gardens in the valley. The water is captured at the blue arrow (pict. 3). The line of shrubs betrays the position of the channel. The flats at the left are gardens. The channel ends in a huge construction (red arrow, pict. 5). I don't think there was a reservoir to built up more capacity.

(3) Dam and start of the channel

(4) Water supply channel (left of the wall)

(5) Channel head

(6) Tube runs below meadow to the mill

The channelhead is built with regularly shaped stones. You can appreciate the height by looking at pict. 6 where two adults are standing in the grass next to the construction. There is a roof flat and perforated by the controls of the valves. A grid keeps unwanted objects from entering into the system. There are three ways out.

First there is a drain (right at pict. 5) which evacuates the water to a barranco nearby.

The square hole at pict. 5 is the second outlet. I'm not sure about its use. Was it meant to feed an older mill, now entirely disappeared?

(7) Remains of the mill

(8) Remains of the mill; tube

The last outlet starts at the wall opposite of the drain and fed the power station. It's a tube. It runs underground from the channelhead to the end of the meadow (pict. 6 is taken from the far end of the meadow) and surfaces again through the backwall of the mill.

The mill is built completely below the level of the meadow. This makes for a difference in altitude of about six meters between the channel and the generator.