The Rio Tinto is the backbone of this Special Area of Conservation, going from Nerva to San Juan del Puerto, and standing out for its role as an ecological corridor between Doñana and Sierra Morena. It is a natural way of connecting the wildlife, as well as being a key part of the river structuring and its declaration as Protected Landscape (Rio Tinto) Mining Basin. It has an extraordinarily unique landscape; incredible morphology and magical waters caused by the mining activity, making it a site of interest for scientists, photographers, and tourists alike.

The ecological corridor of Rio Tinto incorporates linear elements such as its main tributary streams (Corumbrel, Candón, Gallego, Giraldo, de Bayas), and allows the interconnection of different areas and ecosystems. It also has large areas of forest in the northern parts, namely in Niebla, Valverde del Camino, Zalamea la Real, El Berrocal and Escacena del Campo municipalities, with different plant formations that provide a huge variety of ecosystems and shelter for wildlife, such as the Iberian lynx; whose conservation is one of the ecological corridor´s main priorities. Habitats of community interest such as riverine forests of willows and poplars, Mediterranean wetland meadows filled with tall grasses, and evergreen meadows featuring various species of oak, along with pine forests, eucalyptus trees and even rain-fed crops such as olive groves.

The flora and fauna in the area, with some species included in the Andalusian Catalogue of Threatened Species such as “mine heather” (Erica andevalensis), and the numerous mining industry buildings, some restored, are both an educational tool and attract tourists. This is the case of the Via del Tinto trail for example, which is based on the old mining railway route and in the process of being made into a cycle route. It is currently operational in the section between the Berrocal station and Los Frailes. In terms of heritage, the area boasts a series of water mills, and interesting sites such as Dólmenes del Pozuelo in Zalamea la Real, and Los Gabrieles in Valverde del Camino, on top of the wonder that is Rio Tinto itself.