The Rio Mondego () or Mondego River is the longest river entirely within Portuguese territory. It has its source in

Serra da Estrela Serra da Estrela (, ) is the highest mountain range in Continental Portugal. Together with the Serra da Lousã it is the westernmost constituent range of the Sistema Central and also one of the highest in the system. It includes mainland Portuga ...

, the highest mountain range in mainland Portugal (i.e. excluding the Portuguese islands). It runs from the Gouveia municipality, at above sea level in Serra da Estrela, to its mouth in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

next to the city of

Figueira da Foz Figueira da Foz (), officially Figueira da Foz City (), often called simply Figueira for short, is a city and a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. Practically at the midpoint of the Iberian Peninsula's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coa ...

Etymology

The river's name is believed to be derived from the pre-Roman,

Hispano-Celtic Hispano-Celtic is a term for all forms of Celtic spoken in the Iberian Peninsula before the arrival of the Romans (c. 218 BC, during the Second Punic War). In particular, it includes: * A northeastern inland language attested at a relati ...

word ''Munda'' or ''Monda'' — by which names it had been referred to in the

classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

by Pliny and

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

—, later latinised into ''Mondæcus'' until evolving into the present name.

Geography

It flows through the districts of Guarda,

Viseu Viseu () is a city and municipality in the Centro Region of Portugal and the capital of the Viseu District, district of the same name, with a population of 100,105 inhabitants in the entire municipality, and center of the Viseu Dão Lafões Interm ...

and

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of . The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...

, all in Central Portugal. It flows near the towns of Celorico da Beira, Fornos de Algodres,

Nelas Nelas () is a municipality located in the Centro Region of continental Portugal. The population in 2011 was 14,037, in an area of 125.71 km². History Settlement of the territory of Nelas dates back to the settlement by Neolithic and Stone ...

Tábua Tábua (), officially the Town of Tábua (, is a town and municipality of the Coimbra District, in Portugal. In 2021 it had 11,160 inhabitants, in an area of . The town of Tábua is contained within a civil parish with 3,681 inhabitants as of 2021. ...

, Carregal do Sal and

Mortágua Mortágua ( ) is a municipality in the district of Viseu, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 9,607, in an area of . The present mayor is Ricardo Sérgio Pardal, elected in 2021 by the Socialist Party. History Legend suggests that that village ...

and the cities of

Seia Seia () is a municipality in Guarda District in Portugal. The population in 2021 was 21,755, in an area of . Its urban population is about 7,000. Seia was elevated to city status on 3 July 1986. The municipality is situated on the northwestern slop ...

, Gouveia, Guarda,

Oliveira do Hospital Oliveira do Hospital () is a municipality in the district of Coimbra, in the central part of continental Portugal. The population in 2011 was 20,855, in an area of 234.52 km². History Inhabited by ancient civilizations, Oliveira do Hospita ...

, Mangualde and

Santa Comba Dão Santa Comba Dão () is a city and a municipality in the Viseu District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 11,597, in an area of 111.95 km2. The city proper has a population of 3,300. The present mayor is Leonel Gouveia, elected in 2013 ...

, before crossing the town of

Penacova Penacova ( or ) is a town and a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 15,251, in an area of 216.73 km2. Parishes Administratively, the municipality is divided into 8 civil parishes ('' freguesias''): ...

. The river widens by the city of

(a historical city, the largest of the region, with a

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

as a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

), and the

Montemor-o-Velho Montemor-o-Velho (), officially the Town of Montemor-o-Velho (), is a town and municipality of the Coimbra District, in Portugal. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 26,171, in an area of 228.96 km². History In 711, the Arab oc ...

municipality (known for its castle and rice fields), before reaching the Atlantic Ocean at the city of

. There are two main dams along the Mondego, the Aguieira Dam and the Raiva Dam, as well as a smaller one at Coimbra's main bridge.

Tributaries

One of its tributaries is the Rio Dão, which gives its name to the Dão wine region. Another is the Alva River, which enters the Mondego just before Penacova. The Ceira River enters the Mondego just south of

along National Road 17.

References

Rivers of Portugal Mondego basin Coimbra Geography of Guarda District {{Portugal-river-stub

Etymology

Geography

Tributaries

See also

References