The Côa River () is a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the

Douro River The Douro (, , , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern part of the Meseta ...

, in central and northeastern

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 ...

. It is one of the few Portuguese rivers that flows south to north. It flows through the municipalities of

Sabugal Sabugal () is a city and a municipality in the District of Guarda, Portugal. A border municipality with Spain, the population of the municipality in 2011 was 12,544, in an area of 822.70 km2. The city proper, located along the Côa river, has ...

, Almeida, Pinhel,

Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo () is a municipality in the District of Guarda (district), Guarda in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 5,150, in an area of 508.57 km2. Located in the Riba Coa (near the River Coa), just like other municipalities ...

and Vila Nova de Foz Côa, all located in the

Guarda District The District of Guarda ( ) is located in the Centro Region of Portugal, except Vila Nova de Foz Côa, which is in the Norte Region. The district capital and most populous city is Guarda. It borders Castile and León (Spain). Municipalities T ...

. Over of land in the Greater Côa Valley have been set aside for

rewilding Rewilding is a form of ecological restoration aimed at increasing biodiversity and restoring natural processes. It differs from other forms of ecological restoration in that rewilding aspires to reduce human influence on ecosystems. It is also d ...

and conservation as

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

areas. Thousands of ancient carvings in stone were discovered in the Côa Valley in the 1980s and 1990s. These are of particular interest due to the high concentration of Paleolithic art, and because these carvings are found outside of caves, on rocks in plain sight:

Jean Clottes Jean Clottes is a prominent French prehistorian. He was born in the French Pyrenees in 1933"Jean Cl ...

, a prominent French prehistorian, had confirmed that "is the biggest open air site of paleolithic art in Europe, if not in the world". Subsequent researches have led to a consensus that the images there belong to two groups: highly visible pecked

Gravettian The Gravettian is an archaeological industry of the European Upper Paleolithic that succeeded the Aurignacian circa 33,000 years BP. It is archaeologically the last European culture many consider unified, and had mostly disappeared by ...

figures and smaller, less visible

Magdalenian Magdalenian cultures (also Madelenian; ) are later cultures of the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic in western Europe. They date from around 17,000 to 12,000 years before present. It is named after the type site of Abri de la Madeleine, a ro ...

engravings. The drawings attracted worldwide attention when plans to build a

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

dam across the Côa Valley threatened to submerge them. Although hydroelectric development was already well underway, outcry from locals, the scientific community and the media led to dam construction being halted in 1995 after a change in the national government following elections. A significant proportion of the drawings in the Canada do Inferno area were already underwater by that time. The Côa Valley Archaeological Park, opened in 1996, was declared a protected

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

world heritage site in 1998. The Côa river was also the site of the Côa Battle during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

. There are several castles along Terras de Riba-Côa, such as the

Castle of Sabugal Nt-castelo-sabugal-1

The Sabugal Castle is a castle in the city o ...

and the Castle of Pinhel.

References

Rivers of Portugal Geography of Guarda District {{protected-area-stub