São Marcos da Ataboeira is a Portuguese town/parish in the municipality of
Castro Verde
Castro Verde (), officially the Municipality of Castro Verde (), is a List of municipalities of Portugal, municipality of the Alentejo, Alentejo region of Portugal (in the historic district of Beja District, Beja). The population in 2011 was 7,276 ...
. The population in 2011 was 338,
[Instituto Nacional de Estatística]
/ref> in an area of 104.13 km2.[Áreas das freguesias, concelhos, distritos e país]
/ref> The village was integrated into the municipality of Castro Verde during the nineteenth century, and is situated 13 km north east from the municipal seat.
It is a territory where the pseudo-steppe
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the tropical and subtropica ...
is predominant, and grazing has an important role in preserving the traditional landscape. The area of the parish belongs to the SPA - Special Protection Area
A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cer ...
, for endangered species of steppe birds such as the great bustard
The great bustard (''Otis tarda'') is a bird in the bustard family, and the only living member of the genus ''Otis (bird), Otis''. It breeds in open grasslands and farmland from northern Morocco, South Europe, South and Central Europe to temperat ...
and lesser kestrel
The lesser kestrel (''Falco naumanni'') is a small falcon. This species breeds from the Mediterranean across Afghanistan and Central Asia, to China and Mongolia. It is a summer bird migration, migrant, wintering in Africa and Pakistan and someti ...
. The SPA makes part of the Natura 2000
Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...
project of the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
.
A few kilometres from the nearby town of Salto sits the chapel of 'Our Lady of Aracelis', a place of pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
and festivities during the first weekend of September.
Photos
Image:Greatbustard.jpg,
Image:Castro Verde Countryside2.JPG,
Image:Chapel of Aracelis .png,
References
*História e histórias-Castro Verde, Joaquim Boiça/Rui Mateus, Artinvento, Região de Turismo da Planicie Dourada/Câmara Municipal de Castro Verde;
External links
Town Hall official website
(Portuguese: Use Google Translate to convert to other languages)
* List of birds of Portugal
This is a list of the bird species recorded in Portugal. The avifauna of mainland Portugal, the Azores, and Madeira islands included a total of 632 species as of October 2024 according to Avibase. Of them, 16 have been introduced by humans. 3 are ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sao Marcos Da Ataboeira
Freguesias of Castro Verde