Minho
Minho is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 42.08°, -8.50°
About Minho
The Minho ( MEEN-yoo; Portuguese: [ˈmiɲu]) or Miño ( MEEN-yoh; Spanish: [ˈmiɲo] ; Galician: [ˈmiɲʊ]; Proto-Celtic: *Miniu) is the longest river in the autonomous community of Galicia in Spain, with a length of 340 kilometres (210 mi). It forms a part of the international border between Spain and Portugal. By discharge volume, it is the fourth largest river of the Iberian Peninsula after the Douro, Ebro, and Tagus rivers.
The Minho waters vineyards and farmland and is used to produce hydroelectric power. It also delineates a section of the Spanish–Portuguese border. In ancient English maps, it appears as Minno.
The source of the Minho lies north of Lugo in Galicia, in a place called Pedregal de Irimia. After about 73 kilometres (45 mi), the river passes just south of the walls of this old Roman city, discharging in average 42 m3/s, and flows south through canyons until the valley widens north of Ourense. The river has been harnessed in reservoirs from Portomarín to Frieira.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Minho (river) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Minho in Depth
Geography
The river begins in the Pedregal de Irimia of the Sierra de Meira, about 695 metres (2,280 ft) above sea level, in the northeast of the province of Lugo, where it flows through the town of Meira and reaches the lagoon Fonminhá in the municipality of A Pastoriza. The lagoon was historically (and wrongly) regarded as the source of the Minho. The river flows through the Galician massif, the Cantabrian Mountain range and the mountains of Leon, two of the rainiest areas of the Iberian Peninsula.
The upper course has been declared a Biosphere Reserve. The first 64 kilometres (40 mi) cross the plateau of Lugo (Terrachá), a peneplain whose elevation ranges from 450 to 650 metres (1,480 to 2,130 ft) above the sea level.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Minho (river) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Minho: Key Facts
| Length | 315 km |
|---|---|
| Average discharge | 342 m³/s |
| Drainage basin | 17,619 km² |
| Source | Pedregal de Irimia |
| Mouth | Atlantic Ocean |
| Drainage system | Miño basin |
| Tributaries | Asma River, Avia, Coura river, Anllo River, Deva River, Búbal River |
Facts from Wikidata Q14554 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Minho: Quick Answers
- Where is Minho?
- Minho is located in Spain and Portugal, at 42.0833° N, 8.5017° W.
- Are there dams on the Minho?
- No dam on the Minho is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.