The A-52 is a highway in northwestern
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. It starts at
Vigo
Vigo (, ; ) is a city and Municipalities in Spain, municipality in the province of province of Pontevedra, Pontevedra, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest ...
heads east from the town crossing the
Autopista AP-9 and then the
N-550/
Autovía A-55
The Autovía A-55 (also known as ''Autovía del Atlántico'') is an autovía in Galicia (Spain). It is 32 km (20 miles) long and runs from the centre of Vigo to the Portugal–Spain border, on the Minho River at Tui, where it connects to the ...
. It then goes over the Rio Tea running parallel to the
N-120
The N-120 is a highway in northern Spain. It goes from Vigo to the Ebro Valley.
Starting on the Rías Bajas at Vigo, the city is connected on the Autopista AP-9, the Autovía A-57, Autovía A-55 and N-550 (Road), N-550. The N-120 heads east into ...
and along the Rio Miño. At
Ourense
Ourense (; ) is a city and the capital of the province of province of Ourense, Ourense, located in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, northwestern Spain. It is on the Camino Sanabrés path o ...
the road turns south out of the valley in conjunction with the
N-525. It passes over the Alto de Allariz (725m) and Alto de Estivadas (900m). At Verín the N-532 heads 13 km south to the
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
frontier where it becomes the E-801/A-24/IP-3.
The road runs to the north of the Sierra de Peñas Libras and over the Alto de Fumaces (850m). The Peña Nofre (1,291m) lies to the north. The road heads east over the Alto do Canizo (1,035m) into the Valle de Sanabria overlooked by the Sierra la Cabrera rising to 2,044m at Mt Moncalvo.
The road then heads along the Rio Tera which is dammed into a series of reservoirs. At Benavente the Rios Esla and Orbigo converge. There is a junction with the
Autovía A-6 and
Autovía A-66 as well as the
N-VI.
The section of the A-52 that runs through the northwest of the province of
Zamora, as it passes through the regions of
La Carballeda
La Carballeda () is a ''Comarcas of Spain, comarca'' located in the northwest of the province of Zamora, Castilla y León, western Spain. Its area is 1,216.54 km2.
Despite the strong identity of its inhabitants, this historical region has no ...
and
Sanabria, has been identified by various environmental groups as the black point of Spanish roads for the wolf, a species that in Spain enjoys protection status. There are several reasons for this problem, most of them related to the lack of maintenance of the highway as it passes through said territory.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Autovia A-52
A-52
A-52
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