Paterna del Río is a municipality in the province of Almería, within the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It is one of the small settlements that make up the Alpujarra region of Almería, an area on the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada.
The municipality is located in the interior of Almería province, at a considerable elevation, which gives it a cooler and wetter climate than the coastal parts of the province. Its name reflects the presence of a river, and the surrounding landscape is characterised by mountainous terrain and terraced hillsides.
Like other villages in the Alpujarra, Paterna del Río has traditionally been associated with agriculture, particularly the cultivation of crops on irrigated terraces. Its population is small, and it forms part of the network of rural municipalities that make up the western Almería comarca.