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INTRODUCTION
 A nation of explorers that has absorbed habits and traditions from such early civilizations and from the regions that it discovered throughout the world during the Portuguese empire.
Geography
Continental Portugal is split in two by its main river, the Tagus (Tejo). To the north the landscape is mountainous in the interior areas with plateaus, cut by four breaking lines that allow the development of relevant agricultural areas. The south between the Tejo and the Algarve (the Alentejo) features mostly rolling plains with a climate somewhat warmer and drier than the cooler and rainier north. The Algarve, separated from the Alentejo by mountains, enjoys a Mediterranean climate comparable with Morrocco or Southern Spain, and is the southwesternmost tip of Europe (Sagres). Other major rivers include the Douro, the Minho and the Guadiana, similar to the Tagus in that all originate in Spain. Another important river, the Mondego, originates in the Serra da Estrela (the highest mountains in mainland Portugal - 1,991 m).
The islands of the Azores and Madeira are located in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, some of the islands have had recent volcanic activity. Originally two islands, São Miguel Island was joined by a volcanic eruption in 1563. The last volcano to erupt was the Vulcão dos Capelinhos (Capelinhos Volcano) in 1957, in the western part of Faial Island, increasing the size of that island. Dom João de Castro Bank is a large submarine volcano that lies midway between the islands of Terceira and São Miguel and rises to 14 m bellow the sea surface. It last erupted in 1720 and formed an island, and it remained above the water for several years. A new island may be formed in a not so distant future. Portugal's highest point is Mount Pico in Pico Island, an ancient volcano, at 2,351 metres.
The Portuguese coast is extensive, it has 943 km for continental Portugal, 667 km for the Azores, 250 km for Madeira and the Savage Islands . The coast has fine beaches, the Algarve ones are world-famous. In Porto Santo Island, a dune formation attracts many tourists. An important feature on its coast is the Ria de Aveiro (near Aveiro), a delta 45 km in length and a maximum of 11 km in width, rich in fish and sea birds. There are four main channels, between them several islands and islets, and it is where four rivers meet the ocean. A sort of narrow headlands formed a lagoon, seen as one of the most remarkable hydrographic features of the Portuguese coast. Portugal possesses one of the largest exclusive economic zones (EEZ) in Europe, covering 1,727,408 km².
Portugal is one of the warmest European countries. In mainland Portugal, yearly temperature averages are about 13ºC in the north and 18ºC in the south. Madeira and Azores have a narrower temperature range as expected given their insularity, with the former being wet and rainy, and the later having low precipitation in most of the archipelago. Spring and Summer months are usually sunny and temperature maxima are very high during July and August, with maxima averaging between 30°C and 35°C in the interior of the country, and occasionally reaching 45°C in the south nearer the Spanish border. Autumn and Winter are typically rainy and windy, yet sunny days are not rare either. Temperatures rarely fall below 5°C nearer to the sea, averaging 10°C, but can reach several degrees below zero further inland. Snow is common in the mountainous areas of the north, especially in Serra da Estrela. Portugal's climate is classified as Atlantic-Mediterranean.
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