The Mira River () is a
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...
in southwestern
Alentejo. It is long.
It has its sources on the northern slopes of the
Serra do Caldeirão and pursues a southeast–northwest course with a generally mild inclination to 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 ...
, where it discharges through a small calm delta near the town of
Vila Nova de Milfontes
Vila Nova de Milfontes is a town and civil parish (''freguesia'') in the municipality ('' concelho'') of Odemira, in the Alentejo region in Portugal. The population in 2021 was 5,653, in an area of 76.48 km2.
History
One of the older parish ...
, south of
Lisbon. It is one of the two only rivers in Portugal with a chiefly south–north orientation (the other being its neighbour
Sado) and one of the few rivers in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
with this orientation.
Mira basin borders Sado River basin at north and
Guadiana River
The Guadiana River (, also , , ), or Odiana, is an international river defining a long stretch of the Portugal-Spain border, separating Extremadura and Andalusia (Spain) from Alentejo and Algarve (Portugal). The river's basin extends from the e ...
basin eastwards.
Main tributaries in the right bank: Torgal Rivulet, Luzianes River and Perna Seca River. Main tributaries in the left bank include rivers Macheira, Guilherme and Telhares.
Distributary streamlines run perpendicularly along the coastline and discharge directly to the Atlantic Ocean.
Since its name origins are prior to Roman dominion in the zone, it is believed, that the name ''Mira'' may have the same Celtic or pre-Celtic origin of that of the old city of
Miróbriga
Miróbriga (''Mirobriga Celticorum'') is an ancient Roman town located near the village and civil parish of Santiago do Cacém, in the municipality of the same name in the south-west of Portugal. Archeology revealed that the town occupied the s ...
(cradle of the modern city of
Santiago do Cacém
Santiago do Cacém ( or ) is a municipality in Setúbal District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 29,749, in an area of 1059.69 km2.
The present mayor is Álvaro Beijinha, elected by the Unitary Democratic Coalition. The municipal holi ...
), the ruins of which lie to the north. It is known that in the pantheon of the local tribes (called Celtici by the Romans) there was a god for whom devotion was made to protect the waters, whose name was ''Mirobieus''.
External links
Maps and data at the National Information System for Hydric Resources''(in Portuguese)''
Rivers of Portugal
{{Portugal-river-stub