page_title: Norte Region, Portugal
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Norte Region, Portugal / Geography
caption_attribution_description: English: International Douro view from Miranda do Douro, Portugal.
context_page_description: Norte or Northern Portugal is the most populous region in Portugal, ahead of Lisboa, and the third most extensive by area. The region has 3,576,205 inhabitants according to the 2017 census, and its area is 21,278 kilometres with a density of 173 inhabitants per square kilometre. It is one of five regions of Mainland Portugal. Its main population center is the urban area of Porto, with about one million inhabitants; it includes a larger political metropolitan region with 1.8 million, and an urban-metropolitan agglomeration with 2.99 million inhabitants, including Porto and a number of urban areas in Northwestern Portugal, like Braga and Guimarães. The Commission of Regional Coordination of the North is the agency that coordinates environmental policies, land-use planning, cities and the overall development of this region, supporting local governments and associations.
  Northern Portugal is a culturally varied region. It is a land of dense vegetation and profound historic and cultural wealth.
context_section_description: Northern Portugal is a mountainous areas. Its peaks known as serras include Serra do Gerês (1544 m), Peneda (1416 m), Marão (1415 m) and Soajo (1415 m). Some of which forms natural parks: the Peneda-Gerês National Park, Montesinho Natural Park, and the Alvão Natural Park.
  The coast, known as the Costa Verde, is a flat strip of land enclosed by sandy beaches and hills, the largest of which is the coastal plain between the Cávado and the Ave rivers. The area is known for the long stretch of picturesque sand dunes which accumulated during the Little Ice Age, part of which is protected in the Northern Littoral Natural Park.
  The Minho, Lima, Neiva, Cávado, Ave and the Douro are the most preeminent rivers that flow to the Atlantic Ocean. Inland, the Tâmega is a major tributary which empties in the Douro river. The Douro is the most preeminent river, and one of the most important rivers in the Iberian Peninsula. The Minho river marks the northwestern Portuguese-Spanish border and is the second most important river.
  There are four World Heritage Sites: the Alto Douro Wine Region, the Prehistoric Rock-Art Sites in the Côa Valley, the Porto historical Center and the Guimarães historical Center. Throughout the region the rivers, waterfalls, vineyards and fertile plots combine with the ancestral monuments in urban centres.
caption: The inland Douro Valley area is exposed to hot summers and seasonal aridity.
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