Guadiana
The Guadiana River (/ˌɡwɑːdiˈɑːnə/, also US: /ɡwɑːdˈjɑːnə/, Spanish: [ɡwaˈðjana], Portuguese: [ɡwɐðiˈɐnɐ]), is an international river defining a long stretch of the Portugal-Spain border, separating Extremadura and Andalusia (Spain) from Alentejo and Algarve (Portugal). The river's basin extends from la Mancha and the eastern portion of Extremadura to the southern provinces of the Algarve; the river and its tributaries flow from east to west, then south through Portugal to the border towns of Vila Real de Santo António (Portugal) and Ayamonte (Spain), where it flows into the Gulf of Cádiz. With a course that covers a distance of 829 kilometres (515 mi), it is the fourth-longest in the Iberian peninsula, and its hydrological basin extends over an area of approximately 68,000 square kilometres (26,000 sq mi) (the majority of which lies within Spain).
| Guadiana River Rio Guadiana | |
|---|---|
The Guadiana River in the area around Serpa, Portugal | |
About 83 percent, 55,000 square kilometres (21,000 sq mi), of the River Guadiana watershed is in Spain; the rest is in Portugal (interactive map) | |
| Etymology | Arabic derivative of Wādī + Ana, meaning "River Valley Ana" |
| Location | |
| Country | Spain and Portugal |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Ojos del Guadiana |
| • location | Villarrubia de los Ojos, Castile–La Mancha, Spain |
| • coordinates | 39°7′36″N 3°43′36″W |
| • elevation | 608 m (1,995 ft) |
| Mouth | Gulf of Cádiz |
• location | Vila Real de Santo António, Algarve, Portugal |
• coordinates | 37°10′12″N 7°23′37″W |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 818 km (508 mi) |
| Basin size | 67,733 km2 (26,152 sq mi) |
| Depth | |
| • minimum | 5 m (16 ft) |
| • maximum | 17 m (56 ft) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 78.8 m3/s (2,780 cu ft/s) |
| • minimum | 20 m3/s (710 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 1,500 m3/s (53,000 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left |
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| • right |
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