PORTUGAL : Geography and nature
Portugal is Europe's south-westernmost country on the Iberian Peninsula
Fine beaches, a temperate year-round climate, mouth-watering gastronomy
and friendly people are just a few of the ingredients that spice up the
experience of visiting this country. The Iberian Peninsula is a
geographic unit that contains a number of distinct regions based on
climate and geomorphology, such as Andalusia, Castile, Galicia, and
Lusitania. Lusitania, which now encompasses the modern nation-state of
Portugal.
Portugal is roughly a rectangle in shape; 561 km (350 miles) long and an
average of 188 km (117 miles) wide. Its 88,550 sq. km (34,200 sq. miles)
cover almost one seventh of the Iberian Peninsular, while Spain accounts
for 510,000 sq. km (197,000 sq. miles) in comparison. The country is
split in two by its main river, the Tagus (Tejo). To the north the
landscape is mountainous in the interior areas with plateaus, cut by
four breaking lines that allow the development of relevant agricultural
areas. The south down as far as the Algarve features mostly rolling
plains with a climate somewhat warmer and drier than the cooler and
rainier north.
The Portuguese coast is extensive, it has 943 km at continental
Portugal, 667 km at the Azores, 250 km at Madeira and the Savage Islands
. The coast developed fine beaches, the Algarve ones are worldwide
famous. In Porto Santo Island, a dune formation is appealing to many
tourists. An important feature in its coast is the Ria de Aveiro (near
Aveiro), a delta with 45 km in length and a maximum of 11 km width, rich
in fish and sea birds.
The islands of the Azores and Madeira are located in the Mid-Atlantic
Ridge, some of the islands had recent volcanic activity. Originally two
islands, São Miguel Island was joined by a volcanic eruption in 1563.
The last volcano to erupt was the Vulcão dos Capelinhos (Capelinhos
Volcano) in 1957, in western part of Faial Island, increasing the size
of that island. Dom João de Castro Bank is a large submarine volcano
that lies midway between the islands of Terceira and São Miguel and
rises 14 m bellow the sea surface. It last erupted in 1720 and formed an
island, it remained above the water for several years. A new island can
be formed in a not so distant future. Portugal's highest point is Mount
Pico in Pico Island, an ancient volcano, with 2,351 metres.
