The Arade () is a
river located in the region of the
Algarve, southern
Portugal. the river's course takes it through the
municipalities of
Silves Silves may refer to :
Europe
* Silves, Portugal, municipality and former bishopric in Algarve, southern Portugal
** Silves (parish), a civil parish in the municipality of Silves
** Castle of Silves, a medieval castle in civil parish of Silves
...
,
Lagoa and
Portimão. The source of the river lies to the southwest of the Serra do Caldeirão mountain ridge, in a valley called Barranco do Pé do Coelho. The river has a total length of , with its source being above sea level. The mouth of the river empties into the
Atlantic Ocean between the city of Portimão and the
freguesia of
Ferragudo
Ferragudo is a Portuguese civil parish at the western border of the municipality of Lagoa. The population in 2011 was 1,973, in an area of 5.41 km². Ferragudo serves mainly as a bedroom community for its much larger neighbour, the city of Po ...
, in
Lagoa Municipality.
From the time of the Moors until the 19th century, the Arade was navigable up to as far as Silves
[Silves, ''Tourist Guide to the Town and Borough'', By J.D. Garcia Domingues (Empresa Litográfica Do Sul, S.A.).] about , where an important
port used to exist, especially for the
cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
trade. Nowadays only small boats can go that far.
Dams
Part of the reason for the present low water flow (and subsequent silting up) of the river has been the erection of two dams in the middle reaches of the river—the Barragem (Dam) de Arade and above it the Barragem do Funcho.
References
Rivers of the Algarve
Rivers of Portugal
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