The Minho ( / ˈ m iː n . j uː / MEEN -yoo ; Portuguese: [ˈmiɲu] ) or Miño ( / ˈ m iː n j oʊ / MEEN -yoh ; Spanish: [ˈmiɲo] ; Galician: [ˈmiɲʊ] ; Proto-Celtic : * Miniu ) is the longest river in the autonomous community of Galicia in Spain , with a length of 340 kilometres (210 mi). It forms a part of the international border between Spain and Portugal. By discharge volume, it is the fourth largest river of the Iberian Peninsula after the Douro , Ebro , and Tagus rivers.
11-634: The Minho waters vineyards and farmland and is used to produce hydroelectric power . It also delineates a section of the Spanish – Portuguese border. In ancient English maps, it appears as Minno. The source of the Minho lies north of Lugo in Galicia, in a place called Pedregal de Irimia . After about 73 kilometres (45 mi), the river passes just south of the walls of this old Roman city, discharging in average 42 m/s, and flows south through canyons until
22-720: Is a tributary of the Miño River with a length of 36.70 kilometres (22.80 mi). It begins in the serra of the Suído at a height of 880 metres (2,890 ft) in the place called Fonte Avia (municipality of Avión ). It follows an SO-NL direction after arriving to the artificial lake of Albarellos , between the municipalities of Leiro , Boborás and Avión . After the artificial lake it continues until Boborás, turning there in SL direction. It flows in Ribadavia . Its tributaries include
33-691: The Atlantic between the Galician A Guarda and the Portuguese Caminha , with an average discharge of 420 m/s. The river begins in the Pedregal de Irimia of the Sierra de Meira, about 695 metres (2,280 ft) above sea level, in the northeast of the province of Lugo , where it flows through the town of Meira and reaches the lagoon Fonminhá in the municipality of A Pastoriza . The lagoon
44-482: The Maquiáns River , Viñao River , and Arenteiro River , and it runs past the communities of Boborás , Leiro , and Ribadavia . 42°27′17.6″N 8°16′28.9″W / 42.454889°N 8.274694°W / 42.454889; -8.274694 This article about a location in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to
55-700: The Ribeiro wine, both peculiar to this area. The very best of these wines, Alvarinho in Portuguese or Albariño in Spanish and Galician , is produced in the area around Monção , Arbo , and Melgaço. Passing the medieval towns of Melgaço and Monção , the Minho divides the Spanish Tui and Portuguese Valença do Minho , towns that guarded an important bridge for road and rail. Both towns preserve fortifications and are national monuments. The Minho reaches
66-430: The Minho sets the border with Portugal for about 80 kilometres (50 mi), mainly towards the west. The valley is a lush, green agricultural area where the land is used to produce corn, potatoes, cabbage, even kiwi fruit, or just grass, depending on the time of year, and everywhere, edging the fields, rivers, and gardens, wherever there is space, are the vines that produce the light, slightly sparkling "Vinho Verde" and
77-524: The Minho, with a discharge of 102 m/s, receives the waters of its main tributary, the Sil , with 184 m/s. Passing Ourense, there is one major dam at Frieira near the town of Ribadavia , which is famous for its Ribeiro DOP wine (called after the name of the region). There, the Minho averages 316 m/s of discharge. Later on, the river flows in a southwest direction until reaching the Portuguese border near Melgaço . After 260 kilometres (160 mi) through Galicia,
88-664: The river, the Xarcos who dwelt in wells located throughout the watershed, and fish-men who were amphibious with the possibility of living both on land and in water. Hydroelectric power Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.133 via cp1102 cp1102, Varnish XID 565927185 Upstream caches: cp1102 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:42:16 GMT Avia (river) The Avia River
99-575: The sea level. The main tributaries are the Sil , Neira, Avia , Barbantiño , Búbal , Arnoya rivers. According to E. Bascuas , "Miño", registered as Minius and Mineus , is a form belonging to the old European hydronymy and derived from the Indo-European root *mei- 'walk, go'. Oral tradition contains stories telling of Galician mythological characters living in the basin of the Rio Minho, such as feiticeiras (witches) who lived in
110-529: The valley widens north of Ourense . The river has been harnessed in reservoirs from Portomarín to Frieira . Along its length, it has the following reservoirs: Belesar with 654 cubic hectometres (530,000 acre⋅ft ), Peares with182 cubic hectometres (148,000 acre⋅ft), Velle with17 cubic hectometres (14,000 acre⋅ft), Castrelo with,60 cubic hectometres (49,000 acre⋅ft) and Frieira with 44 cubic hectometres (36,000 acre⋅ft). About 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Ourense at Os Peares ,
121-588: Was historically (and wrongly) regarded as the source of the Minho. The river flows through the Galician massif, the Cantabrian Mountain range and the mountains of Leon, two of the rainiest areas of the Iberian Peninsula . The upper course has been declared a Biosphere Reserve . The first 64 kilometres (40 mi) cross the plateau of Lugo (Terrachá), a peneplain whose elevation ranges from 450 to 650 metres (1,480 to 2,130 ft) above
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