Douro

Coordinates: 41°8′36″N 8°40′10″W / 41.14333°N 8.66944°W / 41.14333; -8.66944
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
River Douro
)
This article is about the river. For other uses, see Douro (disambiguation).
"Duero" redirects here. For the municipality in the Philippines, see Duero, Bohol.
Douro
Duero (
Soria, Castile and León, Spain
 • coordinates42°0′38″N 2°52′49″W / 42.01056°N 2.88028°W / 42.01056; -2.88028
 • elevation2,157 m (7,077 ft)
Norte, Portugal
 • coordinates
41°8′36″N 8°40′10″W / 41.14333°N 8.66944°W / 41.14333; -8.66944
 • elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Length897 km (557 mi)
Basin size98,400 km2 (38,000 sq mi)
Discharge 
 • locationPorto
 • average700 m3/s (25,000 cu ft/s)
 • maximum17,000 m3/s (600,000 cu ft/s)
Discharge 
 • locationPocinho
 • average442 m3/s (15,600 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • left
Esla, Sabor [pt], Tua, Corgo, Tâmega, Sousa

The Douro (

province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern part of the Meseta Central in Castile and León into northern Portugal. Its largest tributary (carrying a more water than the Douro at their confluence) is the right-bank Esla.[5] The Douro flows into the Atlantic Ocean at Porto
, the second largest city of Portugal.

The scenic

UNESCO World Heritage Site. Within Spain, it flows through the middle of the autonomous community of Castile and León, with the basin spanning through the northern half of the Meseta Central. The latter includes wine producing areas such as the Ribera del Duero
DOP.

Name

The

Celtic name before overwhelming Romanization of Iberia. If so the Celtic root could be *dubro- (in that family of languages the final vowel sound often changes with context, as in Latin).[6]. If so, the -b-, which there is no trace of, would not have disappeared like in Gaulish *dubron (plural dubra) > French place-names Douvres and the English place-name Dover (Dubris 3rd / 4th century) called Douvres in French, Dobra (Spain), Tauber (Germany, Dubra-gave 807) and in Gaelic : Old Irish dobur "water" and river name Dobhar in Ireland and Scotland.[7] Modern Welsh dŵr "water" is cognate with modern Breton dour and Cornish dur "water" and result of a later typical Brittonic evolution of *dubro-,[7] unknown in the Continental Celtic languages
.

The possible origin is the

Pre-Celtic hydronymic root *dor- which is well attested in Western Europe: in France Doire, Doron, Douron, etc. and in Italy Dora, etc.[8] The meaning of this element is however unknown.[8]

A folk-etymological derivation suggests that the name comes from the Portuguese or Spanish for "golden".[9][10]

History

A 1908 image of boats along the Douro River

In Roman times, the river was personified as a god, Durius.

Part of the drainage basin might have been severely depopulated in the 8th century. According to Claudio Sánchez-Albornoz this was a deliberate act by Alfonso I of Asturias for the defence of his Kingdom, which led the area to be named Repoblación.

The Douro vinhateiro (vine-land) of the

rabelos, to be stored in barrels in cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia, just across the river from Porto. Nowadays port
is transported there in tanker trucks.

In the 1960s and 1970s, dams with locks were built along the river, allowing river traffic into the upper regions in Spain and along the border.

In 1998,

trans-boundary rivers to include the Douro, Tagus and Guadiana. The convention superseded an agreement on the Douro, signed in 1927, that was expanded in 1964 and 1968 to include tributaries.[11]

Geography

A SPOT Satellite image of the Douro River
Profile of the Douro River, from its source in the mountains of the Sistema Ibérico to Foz do Douro

It is the third-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula after the

Tagus and Ebro. Its total length is 897 kilometres (557 mi),[12] of which only sections of the Portuguese section, being below a fall/rapids line, are naturally navigable, by modest rivercraft.[13] The Douro River basin encompasses an area of approximately 97,290 square kilometres.[14]

In its Spanish section, the Douro crosses the great

Salamanca, passing through the towns of Soria, Almazán, Aranda de Duero, Tordesillas, and Zamora
.

The most important tributaries in this region are the

Zamora. This region is generally semi-arid plains, with wheat and in some places, especially near Aranda de Duero, with vineyards, in the Ribera del Duero wine region. Sheep
rearing is also still important.

The

Tajo to the south.[12][13]

For 112 kilometres (70 mi), the river forms part of the national border line between Spain and Portugal, in a region of narrow

Zamoran
margin).

The Douro fully enters Portuguese territory just after the confluence with the

Tâmega, and Sousa
. None of these small, fast-flowing rivers is navigable.

Human geography

Aerial view of the Douro estuary, Porto

Major Spanish riverside towns include

Foz Côa, Peso da Régua, Lamego, Vila Nova de Gaia, and Porto
. The most populous cities along the Douro River are Valladolid and Zamora in Spain, and Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia in Portugal. The latter two are located at the mouth of the Douro at the Atlantic Ocean.

In Portugal, the Douro flows through the districts of

UNESCO World Heritage Site
because of its significant architecture and history.

Economy

See also: Port wine, Agriculture in Portugal, Tourism in Portugal, and Tourism in Spain
The Ribeira (meaning riverside). Its tall, colourful-building terraces is the main part of the river bank in the major city of Porto; it attracts numerous tourists

These reaches of the Douro have a

mesoclimate[specify] allowing for cultivation of olives, almonds, and especially grapes, which are important for making port. The region around Pinhão and São João da Pesqueira
is considered to be the centre of port, with its quintas (or farms/estates) that extend along the steep slopes of the river valleys. In the 21st century, many of these are owned by multinational, reputed wine companies.

Recently, a prosperous tourist industry has developed based on river excursions from Porto to points along the Upper Douro valley.

The

Douro railway line
(Linha do Douro) was completed in 1887; it connects Porto, Rio Tinto, Ermesinde, Valongo, Paredes, Penafiel, Livração, Marco de Canaveses, Régua, Tua and Pocinho.

Pocinho is near the very small city of Foz Côa, which is close to

UNESCO World Heritage Site
.

Dams

Fifteen dams have been built on the Douro to regulate the water flow, generate

locks. Beginning at the headwaters, the first five dams are in Spain: Cuerda del Pozo, Los Rábanos, San José, Villalcampo and Castro Dams. The next five downstream are along the Portuguese-Spanish border; the first three are owned and operated by Portugal: (Miranda, Picote and Bemposta Dams), while the next two belong to Spain: (Aldeadávila and Saucelle Dams
).

The Douro's last five dams are in Portugal, and allow for navigation:

locks
. The highest lock, at Carrapatelo Dam, has a maximum lift of 35 metres (115 ft). The waters of Pocinho lake reach 125 metres (410 ft) above sea level. Unannounced releases of water from upstream Spanish dams occasionally causes navigation issues in these locks.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ "Douro". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  2. ^ "Douro". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  3. ^ "Douro" (US) and "Douro". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-07-30.
  4. ^ "Douro". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  5. S2CID 245777871
    .
  6. ^ Robert Ferguson (1862). The River-names of Europe. Williams & Norgate. pp. 26–.
  7. ^ a b Xavier Delamarre, Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise, Éditions Errance, 2003, p. 151 - 152
  8. ^ a b Albert Dauzat, Gaston Deslandes et Charles Rostaing, Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de rivières et de montagnes en France, Klincksieck, Paris, 1978, p. 41b.
  9. ^ Nick Timmons, Portugal (1994), p. 99: "The Douro... the Golden River (d'ouro means 'of gold')..."
  10. ^ DK Eyewitness Travel Guide Portugal (2016), p. 239: "...the Douro or "Golden River" weaves its scenic path through deep-cleft gorges..."
  11. ^ "Spanish-Portuguese Albufeira Convention". United Nations. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  12. ^ a b "Rivers in Spain". www.iberianature.com. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  13. ^ a b "Guide to Spain CO-CU". www.iberianature.com. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  14. doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2010.03.003
    . Retrieved 6 January 2023.

External links
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