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DOURO

Latin: Durius, Spanish: Duero, Portuguese: Douro.

Length (km): 897
Drainage Area (km2): 97 290
Discharge (m3/s): 488
Countries: 2
Population: 4 100 000
Sea at Mouth: Atlantic
Ramsar Sites: 1

The Douro River is the third longest in the Iberian Peninsula and its basin is the largest there. It rises in the Sierra de Urbión in central Spain, and crosses the Numantian Plateau. The river flows generally westward across Spain and northern Portugal to the Atlantic Ocean at Foz do Douro. It has extensive barge traffic in its Portuguese section, and has been harnessed for hydroelectric power.

Silting rapids, and deep gorges combine to make most of the Douro un-navigable. The middle Douro is extensively used for irrigation. There are everal hydroelectric power plants along the river, and through an international agreement the power is used for irrigation and development.

Grapes are the chief crop of the Douro valley, and the Douro estuary is the centre of the Portuguese wine trade.

The Douro River watershed drains 17% of the Iberian Peninsula. The Douro River estuary receives largely untreated sewage from about 1 million inhabitants of Greater Porto.

In its Spanish section the Douro’s most important tributaries are the Pisuerga, passing through Valladolid, and the Esla. After the Douro enters Portugal, there are few population centres. Tributaries are small and flow into canyons to enter the larger River. The most important are the Coa, Tua, Tâmega, Balsemão and Sousa. None of these small, fast-flowing rivers are navigable.

There are nine dams on the Portuguese Douro, regulating the flow of water and generating hydroelectric power.

Some Spanish tributaries of the Douro River have a high phosphate concentration due to urban and industrial effluents, which make their waters unsuitable for human use. The local presence of nitrates affects different areas of the water basin: the central Duero region, Esla-Valderaduey and Arenales.

CONFEDERACIÓN HIDROGRÁFICA DEL DUERO - Spain: www.chduero.es

Instituto da Água - Portugal (INAG): www.inag.pt