Tagus
The Tagus (Spanish: Tajo [ˈtaxo]; Portuguese: Tejo [ˈtɛʒu]; Latin: Tagus; Ancient Greek: Τάγος Tagos) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula.
| Tagus Tajo (Spanish) Tejo (Portuguese) | |
|---|---|
 View of Tagus River in Toledo, Spain | |
 Path of the Tagus through the Iberian Peninsula | |
| Etymology | Vulgar Latin taliāre, "to cut through" |
| Location | |
| Country | Spain, Portugal |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Fuente de García |
| - location | Montes Universales, Sierra de Albarracín Comarca, Teruel, Aragon, Spain |
| - elevation | 1,593 m (5,226 ft) |
| Mouth | Estuary of the Tagus |
| - location | Atlantic Ocean near Lisbon, Portugal |
| - elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 1,007 km (626 mi) |
| Basin size | 80,100 km2 (30,900 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| - average | 500 m3/s (18,000 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Guadiela, Algodor, Gévalo, Ibor, Almonte, Salor, Sever |
| - right | Gallo, Jarama, Guadarrama, Alberche, Tiétar, Alagón, Zêzere |
Geography
changeIt is 1,007 km (626 mi) long, 716 km (445 mi) in Spain and 275 km (171 mi) in Portugal. For 47 km (29 mi) it forms the border between Portugal and Spain. The river flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Lisbon.
It drains an area of 80,100 square kilometers (30,927 sq mi) (the second largest in the Iberian peninsula after the Douro). The Tagus is highly utilized for most of its course. Several dams and diversions supply drinking water to most of central Spain, including Madrid, and Portugal, while dozens of hydroelectric stations create power.
Between dams it follows a very constricted course, but after Almourol it enters a vast alluvial valley prone to flooding. At its mouth is a large estuary on which the port city of Lisbon is situated.
The source of the Tagus is the Fuente de García, in the Frías de Albarracín municipal term, Montes Universales, Sistema Ibérico, Sierra de Albarracín Comarca. All its major tributaries enter the Tagus from the right (north) bank. The main cities it passes through are Aranjuez, Toledo, Talavera de la Reina and Alcántara in Spain, and Abrantes, Santarém, Almada and Lisbon in Portugal.
Other websites
change
Media related to Tagus River at Wikimedia Commons
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