The Arade () is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

located in the region of the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

, southern

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. the river's course takes it through the

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

of Silves, Lagoa and

Portimão Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 55,614, in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão (). In 1924, it was ...

. The source of the river lies to the southwest of the Serra do Caldeirão mountain ridge, in a valley called Barranco do Pé do Coelho. The river has a total length of , with its source being above sea level. The mouth of the river empties into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

between the city of Portimão and the

freguesia ''Freguesia'' (), usually translated as "parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former Por ...

of Ferragudo, in Lagoa Municipality. From the time of the Moors until the 19th century, the Arade was navigable up to as far as SilvesSilves, ''Tourist Guide to the Town and Borough'', By J.D. Garcia Domingues (Empresa Litográfica Do Sul, S.A.). about , where an important

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

used to exist, especially for the cork trade. Nowadays only small boats can go that far.

Dams

Part of the reason for the present low water flow (and subsequent silting up) of the river has been the erection of two dams in the middle reaches of the river—the Barragem (Dam) de Arade and above it the Barragem do Funcho.

References

Rivers of the Algarve Rivers of Portugal {{Portugal-river-stub