Portugal Physical Map

Portugal Physical Map 1982

Portugal is formed by a continental territory located in the southwest of Europe that covers 92 090 km² of surface The country occupies a great part of the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula and two archipelagos located in the Atlantic Ocean: Madeira and Azores, with a total of 440 km² of maritime zone. Its continental zone has a border with a single nation, Spain, to the east and to the north, along 1224 km, limiting to the south and west with the North Atlantic Ocean along 1793 km of coastline.

Its continental territory is crossed by its main river, the Tagus, which divides the country in half. In the north, the landscape is mountainous, the zones of the interior with interspersed planalts allow the development of agriculture. In the south, to the Algarve, the relief is characterized by the presence of plains, although there are some interspersed mountain ranges. Other main rivers are the Duero, the Miño and the Guadiana that, like the Tagus, originate in Spain. Among the rivers that have all their course in Portuguese territory the Voga, the Sado and the longest, the Mondego, stand out. In the Serra da Estrela is located the highest mountain in continental Portugal and the second highest peak in Portugal, with an altitude of 1993 meters (after Mount Pico).

The Azores Islands are located in the mid-ocean ridge of the Atlantic Ocean. Some of the islands have recently had volcanic activity: São Miguel (1563) and Capelinhos (1957), which increased the western area of Faial Island. Banco D. João de Castro is a large submarine volcano located between the islands Terceira and São Miguel and is 14 m below the surface of the ocean. It erupted in 1720 and formed an island that remained over water for several years, and it is estimated that a new island could emerge in the not too distant future. As already mentioned, the highest point in Portugal is the Mount Pico on the island of Pico, a volcano that reaches 2351 meters above sea level.

The islands of Madeira, unlike the Azores, are located inside the African plate and their formation is due to the activity of a hot spot unrelated to plate tectonics. This situation of stability and the location in the interior of the tectonic plate makes this the region of Portugal that suffers the least earthquakes. The last volcanic eruption of which remains evidence happened around 6000 years ago, on the island of Madeira where a vulcanism is manifested indirectly through the release of deep volcanic gases and hot and gasified water when road tunnels and galleries to capture waters are opened inside the main island. The highest point of the archipelago is Pico Ruivo with 1862 meters above sea level, which is also the third highest point in the country.

The Portuguese coast is extensive: it has 1230 km in continental Portugal, 667 km in the Azores and another 250 km in Madeira, which also includes the Savage Islands, Desertas Islands and the island of Porto Santo. The coast is formed by beaches with a multitude of cliffs and sandy areas. An important peculiarity of the Portuguese coast is the Ria de Aveiro, estuary of the Voga river, near the city of Aveiro, with 45 km long and a maximum of 11 km wide, which is rich in fish and seabirds. It has four channels, and among these several islands and islets where the four rivers meet the ocean. With the formation of littoral spits or sandspits, a lagoon was defined, considered one of the most important hydrographic elements of the Portuguese coast. Portugal, in turn, has one of the largest exclusive economic zones (EEZs) in Europe, a maritime strip with about 1 683 000 km².
Source: Central Intelligence Agency: CIA

Portugal - Categories of Maps

Political Map	Physical Map	Satellite Map	Thematic Map
Road Map

Portugal Physical Map - Related Maps

Lisboa Map

Oporto Map

Gallery of Europe - Countries

Gallery of World - Continents

Aveiro, Portugal	Azores, Portugal	Beja, Portugal
Braga, Portugal	Braganza, Portugal	Castelo Branco, Portugal
Coimbra, Portugal	Faro, Portugal	Guarda, Portugal
Leiria, Portugal	Lisboa, Portugal	Madeira, Portugal
Oporto, Portugal	Portalegre, Portugal	Santarém, Portugal
Setúbal, Portugal	Viana do Castelo, Portugal	Vila Real, Portugal
Viseu, Portugal	Évora, Portugal