Ateca is a municipality located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. At the time of the 2015 census (INE), the municipality had a population of 1,969.

The river Jalón is located in the northeast of Spain, and is one of the principal tributaries of the Ebro. It has a length of 224 kilometres (139 mi) and drains a basin of 9,338 square kilometres (3,605 sq mi). The flow rate in Calatayud is 20.8 cubic metres per second (730 cu ft/s), but is highly irregular due to the great range of Mediterranean rainfall patterns.