Portugal
Geo-Explorers
By Anamaria Ason
Physical Geography
Portugal has 5 major rivers most of which flow from east
to west: Douro, Miho and the Guadiana all rise in Spain
and flow into the Atlantic. The Mondega begins in the
Serra da Estrela which are the highest mountains in
mainland Portugal(1,993 metres). Portugal’s highest point
is Pico Alto (2,351 metres) on Pico Island in the Azores.
The main river, the Tagus, also originates in Spain and
splits the country into two geographically different areas.
No large natural lakes exist in Continental Portugal, and
the largest inland water surfaces are dam-
originated reservoirs, such as the Alqueva Reservoir.
Portugal is a coastal nation in southwestern Europe,
located on the western side of the Iberian Peninsula
bordering the Atlantic Ocean and the west of Spain
and has a total area of about 92,000 sq km.
Occupying about 16 percent of the Iberian
Peninsula. Portugal (including Madeira and the
Azores) has a population of over 10 million people.
The archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores are also
part of Portuguese territory. Located in the North
Atlantic Ocean, both have volcanic origins with
historic volcanology and seismic activity persisting
to the present time.
The North Meseta
The South Meseta
Northern Portugal comprises the mountainous
border of the Meseta which is the block of ancient
rock that forms the core of the Iberaian Peninsula.
It is mountainous and hilly and characterised by
many small farms and vineyards.The regions of the
north tend to be a little cooler than the south and
also have more rainfall, due to the proximity of the
Meseta, which contributes to the area’s verdant
vegetation and such allows the development of the
more fertile agricultural areas that predominate in
the north.
In the north of the this region are high plateaus
(terra fria) at around 700 m largely composed of
ancient Precambrian rock such as granites, schists
and slates. To the south the landscape is dominated by rolling
hills and plains containing extensive areas of limestone
and other sedimentary strata and the climate is warmer
and drier than the north. The vegetation here is mostly
Mediterranean.
The far south of the country is the region of the
Algarve; a dry and sunny area mostly characterised by
fishing and coastal towns, and also a very popular
tourist destination. Its coastline is notable for
limestone caves, grottoes.
Ria Formosa is a designated nature reserve of more
than 170 sq km with sandy islands and home to
numerous different birds during the migratory periods
in the spring and autumn.
Climate
As a result of Portugal’s physical geography and its
position, the country has considerable climatic
variation with three sets of influence: Atlantic,
continental and Mediterranean.
The Atlantic climate predominates overall, putting
most of the country into the humid zone of the
Iberian Peninsula; this is especially true in the
northwest, where the climate is mild and rainy. But a
warm Mediterranean one is found south of the Tagus
River, inland Douro Valley in the North, Madeira
Islands and Costa Vicentina. The southern portion
also tends to experience less rainfall than the north.
Most of the Azores have an Oceanic climate, while a
small region in inland Alentejo has semi-arid
climate. The Savage Islands, that belong to the
Madeira archipelago, have an arid climate as well.
The annual average temperature in mainland
Portugal varies from 12–13 °C in the mountainous
interior north to 17–18 °C in the south..
The annual average rainfall varies from a bit more
than 3,000 mm in the north to less than 600 mm in
south. Portugal as a whole is amongst the sunniest
areas in Europe, with around 3,000 hours of sunshine
a year and experiences all four seasons.
Human Geography
Portugal is a fairly linguistically and Portugal continues to grow and expand
religiously homogeneous country. The mainly due to their improved
population of Portugal is around 10.5 million. international trade contacts. It is also
58% of these live in the Greater Lisbon and
home to a number of notable leading
greater Porto area.The population begins to
thin out from west to east and from north to companies with worldwide reputations.
south, while the interior areas (Trás-os- Other main industries contributing to
Montes, Beiras, Alentejo and Serra Algarvia) the economy, include oil refineries,
register low rates of occupation. The Alentejo cement production, plastic products,
is an extreme example as its populated centres textiles, construction, steel, footwear,
are very small and far away from each other. leather, wine production and of course
Portugal is a democratic republic with an tourism. The tourism industry is
established system of government, both becoming increasing important to the
presidential and parliamentary.
Portuguese economy especially in the
Algarve. A large part of the national
income is generated by tourism which
is also a valuable source of foreign
currency.
