The Cávado River ( pt, rio Cávado; ) is a river located in northern

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 ...

. It has its source in

Serra do Larouco Serra (Latin for "saw") may refer to: People * Serra (footballer) (born 1961), Portuguese footballer * Serra (surname) * Serra (given name) Cities, towns, municipalities Brazil *Serra, Espírito Santo, a city in the Greater Vitória area *Ampar ...

at an elevation of above sea level. It runs from Fonte da Pipa, near the triangulation station Larouco, to its mouth into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

next to the city of

Esposende Esposende () is a city and a municipality in Braga District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 34,254, in an area of 95.41 km². The city itself (the parish Esposende, Marinhas e Gandra) had a population of 9,197 in 2001. It gained city ...

. It flows through the districts of

Vila Real Vila Real () is the capital and largest city of the Vila Real District, in the North region. It is also the seat of the Douro intermunicipal community and of the Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro historical province. The Vila Real municipality covers ...

and

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

, in Cávado Region, and flows near the towns of

Vila Verde Vila Verde () is a municipality in the district of Braga in Portugal. The population in 2021 was 46,446,

and Esposende and cities of

and Barcelos. Its tributaries are the

Homem River Homem is a surname meaning "man" in Portuguese. Notable people with the surname include: *Diogo Homem (1521–1576), Portuguese cartographer *Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo Guillaume Emmanuel "Guy-Manuel" de Homem-Christo (; born 8 February 1974) ...

, Rabagão River and Saltadouro River.

Dams and Reservoirs

Beginning at the headwaters, there are 5 dams on the Cávado:

Gallery

File:Cavado ponte do bico.jpg, Cávado in Palmeira

File:Foz cavado.jpg , Mouth in Esposende Cávado River {{Portugal-river-stub