Alentejo

The Alentejo's area extends to 27,272 square kilometres (10,530 square miles) (29.6% of the country) and has a population of 537,556 (5.1% of the country). Excluding Ponte de Sor, its area is 26,432 km² (10,205 sq mi) and its population 520,834. The population density of the Alentejo is 19.1 per square kilometre (49/sq mi).

A typical landscape of the rural Alentejo region, with an undulating wheat field and a solitary suber oak

View of the Alqueva Reservoir on the Guadiana from one of the many hills

Topographically the countryside varies from the open rolling plains of the south of the Alentejo to the granite hills that border Spain in the northeast. To feed the water needs of this considerable area a number of public dams have been constructed, most notably the Alqueva Dam. The landscape is primarily one of soft rolling hills and plains, with conspicuous shrubs and the native cork oaks and holly/holm oaks, the established olive trees and grapevines, plus some large-scale toilet roll production of eucalyptus trees and some native trees. In the north, traditional economic activity may be more livestock-based as typified by cattle, sheep, and pig (both white and black) farming. To the south agriculture may be more predominant.

The Alentejo experiences prolonged periods without rain, leaving the fields dried as a result

Coastal Alentejo

Castelo de Vide, Alentejo, Portugal

Parque Natural da Serra de São Mamede, a Nature Park Area located to the east of Portalegre, includes medieval villages. In the south near Mértola there is another Nature Park Area named Parque Natural do Vale Guadiana. This is more sparsely inhabited than the former. To the west, the coastal strip that runs from the port of Sines down to Cape St. Vincent (this already in the Algarve) comprises the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park.

The Alentejo region has a Mediterranean climate, typically warm to hot and dry for a large part of the year, with summer temperatures regularly reaching up to 40 °C (104 °F), while winters are relatively mild and wet. The climate is not uniform throughout the region though: mid-summer temperatures in coastal areas are usually much lower (often around 25 °C (77 °F)) than inland ones (which frequently hover around 35 °C (95 °F)). This much resembles the contrast between Casablanca and the Moroccan interior, where the presence of the nearby Atlantic Ocean gives rise to marked temperature differences between coastal and even nearby inland zones.

Usually, the warmest temperatures can be found in the southernmost inland parts of the region, along the Guadiana valley between Mértola and Juromenha, particularly in the areas close to Moura. However, the hottest days tend to deviate from the usual pattern and will arise when the winds are east or southeast and very hot air with temperatures reaching 25 °C (77 °F) or more at 850 mbar level (usually around 1500 m.a.s.l.) enter Iberia from Africa. If the winds are strong enough, the deep and low-lying valley of the Sado river, becomes extremely warm by European standards. Places like Alvalade do Sado and Alcácer do Sal and others below 100 metres (330 ft), can reach 45 °C (113 °F) under extreme circumstances and 40 °C (104 °F) in the summer is regularly reached each year despite the fact that they are relatively close to the coast.

The highest temperature ever recorded in Portugal and in fact Europe (this century) was measured on 1 August 2003 in Amareleja and reached 47.4 °C (117.3 °F). Since the meteorological station is about 100 metres (330 ft) above the nearby valley near Moura it is very likely that temperatures above 48 °C (118 °F) were reached there but no measurements were taken. What is most impressive and unique in Europe was a stretch of no less than 17 consecutive days at Amareleja with a maximum temperature of 40 °C (104 °F) or more (reaching an average over the period of 43.5 °C (110.3 °F)). This was only equaled over the same period in Córdoba, Spain; although slightly lower over the same period at 42.4 °C (108.3 °F). Finally the average daytime maximum temperatures reach 35 to 36 °C (95 to 97 °F) in July and August near Moura, 33 to 34 °C (91 to 93 °F) in the Sado Valley (and other inland valleys away from the coast). Many parts, however, are above 200 or 300 metres (660 or 980 ft) altitude which leads to clearly lower average temperatures also in summer. It is very likely that the Guadiana river valley away from the coast is the hottest on average in Europe along with the inland part of the Spanish Guadalquivir region, especially near Córdoba. The extremes in this valley, however, are somewhat lower (most just above 46 °C (115 °F)).

Portugal, including the Alentejo region, is affected by global warming and average temperatures are clearly on the rise. Some climate models indicate daytime average maximum temperatures nearing 40 °C (104 °F) in the Guadiana river valley by 2100.