The Mondego River and Its Valley

Abstract

The Mondego is the largest river that has both its headwaters and estuary in Portugal. Flowing in Central Portugal from Serra da Estrela to the city of Figueira da Foz, it has a semi-torrential regime with irregular inter- and intra-annual discharge variations as a result of a Mediterranean climate. This regime was responsible for the occurrence of large floods, mainly in the Lower Mondego, a region that through history has also suffered from significant siltation. The Mondego valley shows four major sectors from an entrenched valley in Serra da Estrela to a wide floodplain downstream from the city of Coimbra. The morphological characteristics of the valley and the phases of stability responsible for the benches and fluvio-torrential and fluvial (terrace) deposits are key in the understanding of the landscape of Central Portugal in which the Mondego River is the largest and major contributor.