The August 12, 2026 total solar eclipse in Aguilar del Río Alhama (La Rioja)

Aguilar del Río Alhama was not La Rioja's longest stop under the shadow, and it was not close: its 92 seconds ranked 59th among the 174 Rioja municipalities inside the band, nine seconds short of the provincial ceiling. It still tied for first place in the province's observing index, with 78.6 points. One number explains it: of the thirty 12 August dates measured between 1996 and 2025, 50.4% were clear here, the second best figure in La Rioja and thirteen points above the provincial average.

Totality arrived at 20:28:40 and withdrew at 20:30:12, with the Sun barely seven degrees up and a computed clearance of 4.4 degrees against the terrain closing off the west-northwest. Some 42 and a half minutes of daylight remained afterwards, since the Sun did not set until 21:12:40 and the eclipse was still in its partial phase when it vanished. At 708 metres and with a mean high of 29.6 degrees, the Alhama valley is dry inland country, a different world from the Najerilla ranges competing for first place seventy kilometres away.