Lorca [key], city (1990 pop. 67,338), Murcia prov., SE Spain, in Murcia, on the Guadalentín River. It is a market center for a fertile, irrigated basin producing cereals, fruits, and vegetables. Hemp sandals and woolen products are made in Lorca. Nearby are gypsum quarries and sulfur and iron mines. Taken by the Moors in the 8th cent., the city was liberated in 1243. It has a Moorish castle, a 17th-century collegiate church, and several old mansions. Many historic buildings were damaged in an earthquake in 2011.
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