What is "almaden"

Almadén is a town and municipality in the Spanish province of Ciudad Real, within the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. The town is located at 4° 49' W and 38° 46' N and is 589 meters above sea level. Almadén is approximately 300 km south of Madrid in the Sierra Morena. The name Almadén is from the Arabic word al-maʻdin, meaning 'the mine'.

Originally a Roman (then Moorish) settlement, the town was captured in 1151 by Alfonso VII and given to the Knights of the Order of Calatrava.

The mercury deposits of Almadén account for the largest quantity of liquid mercury metal produced in the world. Approximately 250,000 metric tons of mercury have been produced there in the past 2,000 years.

Almaden may refer to:

In Spain:

• Almadén, town in Spain notable for its mercury mines

In California:

• Almaden Valley, San Jose, California, named because of the New Almaden mercury mines located there
  • Almaden Mine, alternate name for New Almaden Quicksilver Mine
  • IBM Almaden Research Center, IBM research laboratory in San Jose, California
  • Almaden Air Force Station, former US Air Force station located in the Santa Cruz Mountains in California
• Almaden Vineyards, wine producer owned by Constellation Brands
• Old Almaden Winery, former wine production site now a public park

Almaden is a light rail station operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). This station is the southern Terminus of VTA's Ohlone/Chynoweth–Almaden line, popularly known as the Almaden Shuttle.