The rivers of Galicia form part of a dense

hydrographical Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, Coast, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the pr ...

network in the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

of Galicia and has been described by

Otero Pedrayo Otero is a Spanish surname, and an occasional given name, derived from the Spanish word for height, and indicating a family history of having come from a geographically high place.Richard Donovon Woods, Grace Alvarez-Altman, ''Spanish surnames in ...

as “the land of a thousand rivers”. Most rivers are not deep enough to be navigable. However, small boats are sailed in the lower courses of the River

Minho Minho or Miño may refer to: People * Miño (surname) * Choi Min-ho, South Korean singer and actor known mononymously as Minho Places * Minho (river) or Miño, in Portugal and Spain Jamaica * Rio Minho, a river Portugal * Minho Province ...

and several others, as well as at many of the

dams A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...

. The rivers flowing into the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...

(Cantabrian Sea) tend to be very short. Those flowing into 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 ...

are only a little longer, except for the Minho (340 km) and the Sil (225 km), whose lengths are several hundred kilometres. There are numerous

rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep stream gradient, gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Flow, gradient, constriction, and obstacles are four factors that are needed for a rapid t ...

, due to the steep gradients of many river courses. In addition to river fishing, rivers have been used to power mills, and dams have been constructed to provide

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

power and water storage.

Alphabetical list of Galician rivers

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

Alphabetical list of Galician rivers

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

X

See also

References

Further reading