The Rio Mondego () or Mondego River is the longest river entirely within Portuguese territory. It has its source in Serra da Estrela, 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 oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

next to the city of Figueira da Foz.

Etymology

The river's name is believed to be derived from the pre-Roman, Hispano-Celtic word ''Munda'' or ''Monda'' — by which names it had been referred to in the

classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations ...

by Pliny and

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of import ...

—, 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 district of the same name, with a population of 100,000 inhabitants, and center of the Viseu Dão Lafões intermunipical community, with 267,633 inhabi ...

and

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, it is the largest cit ...

, all in Central Portugal. It flows near the towns of Celorico da Beira, Fornos de Algodres, Nelas, Tábua, Carregal do Sal and Mortágua and the cities of Seia, Gouveia, Guarda, Oliveira do Hospital, Mangualde and Santa Comba Dão, before crossing the town of Penacova. The river widens by the city of

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

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

as a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

), and the Montemor-o-Velho municipality (known for its castle and rice fields), before reaching the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Figueira da Foz. There are two main dams along the Mondego, the

Aguieira Dam Aguieira Dam ( pt, Barragem da Aguieira, links=no) also known as Foz do Dão Dam ( pt, Barragem da Foz do Dão, links=no) is a concrete multiple arch dam on the Mondego River, where the river forms the border line between the districts of Coimbra ...

and the

Raiva Dam Raiva Dam ( pt, Barragem da Raiva, links=no, also known as ''Barragem do Coiço'') is a concrete gravity dam on the Mondego. It is located in the municipality Penacova, in Coimbra District, Portugal. The dam was completed in 1981. It is owned ...

, as well as a smaller one at Coimbra's main bridge.

Tributaries

One of its tributaries is the

Rio Dão Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

, which gives its name to the Dão wine region. Another is the

Alva River Alva River ( pt, Rio Alva, ) is a river in Portugal. It flows into the Mondego River. The river Alva is a mountain river, tributary of the Mondego, rising on the southwest slope of the Serra da Estrela and running about until draining into the r ...

, which enters the Mondego just before Penacova. The Ceira River enters the Mondego just south of

along National Road 17.

Gallery

File:Coimbra tozu.JPG, Coimbra and the Mondego Image:Parque do Mondego - Coimbra.jpg, Mondego bank in Coimbra Image:Ponte nova coimbra2.jpg, Rainha Santa Isabel Bridge over the Mondego Image:Coimbra à noite.jpg, Mondego in Coimbra by night Image:Mondego_caldasfelgueira.jpg , Mondego as it passes Caldas de Felgueira, Nelas, Portugal

References

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

Etymology

Geography

Tributaries

Gallery

See also

References