The Alcantarilha River () is a small river in the south central region of the
Algarve
The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese).
The region has it ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. The river begins at the
conflux of three tributary streams a little south of the village of Miões in the municipality of
Silves.
Downstream the river also has several further tributaries including the
Algoz River (Ribeiro de Algoz). The river runs for a length of from its conflux to the mouth at the Atlantic ocean in south central Algarve.
Description
The Armação de Pêra wetlands
The river runs south towards the south coast and its mouth is at
Armação de Pêra.
At Armação de Pêra the river is the main tributary to an area of shallow salt marsh which over the years has been neglected and is polluted.
Plans have been made to improve the environment in the near future as the wetlands are an important habitat for water fowl and a wintering and nesting site for a numerous species of birds. The wetland is also an important stopping point for thousands of migrating birds.
References
Rivers of Portugal
Rivers of the Algarve
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