The city of Huelva is located on the southwestern coast of Spain,known as Costa de la Luz because of the quality of the light in thisarea. The city lies on a large estuary between the rivers Tinto andOdiel.Its origins can be traced back to prehistoric times, when the firstsettlers in the Bronze Age were drawn to the area by the minerals inthe area that is now the site of the Río Tinto mines. In the 7th century BC Phoenician and Greek merchants established a trading settlementand port in Huelva and exported the minerals they found throughoutthe Mediterranean. Huelva continued to be used as an important portfor exporting minerals, mainly copper and silver extracted from theRío Tinto mines, under the Roman and Arab times. By the 15th century, Huelva was established as a significant port, but it was not until 1492 when Christopher Columbus discovered the New World that it gained in status. Columbus used localsailors for his historic voyage and the increase in trade brought wealth to the whole region, although it was latersuperseded by the ports of Seville and Cadiz. During the 19th century Huelva underwent a massive transformation with the influx of foreign capital from mininginterests. The mining companies changed the architectural face of Huelva, building industrial structures like the wharfs inthe port used for unloading minerals, workshops and the railway. Culturally, Huelva underwent a revival and cultivated amore cosmopolitan atmosphere with the arrival of mainly British and German workers. The legacy of late 19th-centuryBritish architecture still standing today includes the Muelle de Ríotinto, the Estación de Sevilla, the Barrio Obrero and theCasa Colón. Since the 1950s most of Huelva's wealth has come from its flourishing petrochemical industry.