Peneda-Gerês National Park
The National Park of Peneda -Gerês (Portuguese: Parque Nacional da Peneda -Gerês ), also known simply as Gerês, is the only national park in Portugal and is located in the Norte region in the northwest of the country. There are also many natural parks, protected landscapes and reserves across the country.
Under national and international sympathy, the park was founded on May 8, 1971 to protect soil, water, flora, fauna and landscape and preserve. Education and tourism are also goals of the park. Since 2009, the National Park protected Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.
Geography
The districts of Viana do Castelo ( with the cities Melgaço, Arcos de Valdevez, Ponte da Barca ), Braga and Vila Real divide the park. It has an area of 702.90 km ². 52.75 km ² of which are public property, 194.38 km ² are privately owned and the remaining 455.77 km ² are commons.
5,000 ha in the core zone of the national park have the status of "wilderness partner " in the network of European Wildlife sanctuaries in the PAN Parks Foundation.
According to a 1991 census, there were 9099 inhabitants, or 16 % less than 1981 registered 10849th you live in about 114 villages.
The horseshoe-shaped park surrounds the eponymous mountain ridges ( Serra ) and da Peneda do Gerês and Serra do Soajo and there Amarela. The highest peaks are Peneda ( 1373 m), Nevosa ( 1545 m) and Altar dos Cabrões (1538 m ), which lie on the Spanish border ( Serra do Xurés ). Other mountains are Giesto ( 1337 m), Outeiro Alvo ( 1314 m), Pedrara ( 1416 m), Lourica ( 1355 m), Borrageiro ( 1433 m) and Fornos da Fonte Fria ( 1456 m). The boundary of the park to Spain is 80 km long.
The large number of streams, waterfalls, mountains and lakes makes the Evergreen Park one of the most beautiful in the Iberian Peninsula. Several rivers thwart him: Cávado, Lima, Homem, Rabagão, Castro Laboreiro and Arado. The rivers dams with the following names: Alto Rabagão, Paradela, Caniçada, Vilarinho because Fumas, Lindoso.
For each of the villages in the highlands includes farmland. It is built on terraces in view of the mountainous landscape, to the barren land better. Many traditional houses are equipped with granite walls and thatched roofs. They give the landscape and some of the remote villages as Pitões the Júnias and Ermida its special charm.
In the highlands, has an average temperature of about 10 ° C, 4-14 ° C, there is wavering. The average rainfall is more than 2500 mm / year at more than 130 rain days. In winter snow is common. The river valleys of Homem and Cávado have a milder climate, with temperatures between 8 and 20 ° C ( average 14 ° C. Also, the annual rainfall of 900 mm with 100 rainy days are different from the average of the area.
Geology
The mountains of the park are incurred before 380-280 million years, from the Devonian to Permian period. The mountain peaks are dominated by granite rocks, the oldest of which dates back to Amarela, to about 310 million years. There are mineral veins of tin. Tungsten, molybdenum, and gold in the mines closed today Carris and Borrageiro. Most on the northwestern surveys on Castro Lobeiro, emerge schist and quartz.
Some valleys show evidence of glacial influence through the ice ages of the Pleistocene.
Flora
The valleys have a luxuriant vegetation unfolded. Are widespread particularly some species of oak ( oak, Pyrenean oak, Portuguese oak and others), Prunus, holly, eucalyptus, mulberry and strawberry trees, chestnut and birch. On rivers are yews and silver birch. Some trees, such as Albergaria Cabril and are protected worldwide.
With increasing height of the ground vegetation is bald due to the harsher climate. Here grow heather, gorse, broom and juniper.
There are primitive types of lily plants and ferns.
Corn is the main agricultural product.
Fauna
The confusing, mountainous terrain offers ideal living conditions for many wild animals such as deer, wild boars, wild cats, foxes, otters, wolves, pine martens and squirrels; Birds such as red kites, buzzards, golden eagles, goshawks, eagle owls, hawks and Whinchat. Reptiles such as True vipers, snakes and lizards; and amphibians such as newts, salamanders and Disc-.
Bear disappeared in the 17th century from the region. The extinct Pyrenean ibex, regionally known as Gerês Goat, was last seen in the 1890s.
Many animal species are found on the Gerês one of their last refuges not only in Portugal, but on the entire Iberian Peninsula. Wolves and golden eagles, seen as a threat to the cattle, were exterminated by hunting nearly and were protected by law end of the 20th century.
To mention also are the Garranos, a kind of small horses. They usually live in the wild, but they are, since they are also domesticated, not afraid of people.
Two other local breeds of domesticated animal species are now critically endangered: the two cattle breeds Cachena and the larger Barrosa were once used in agriculture. You are now at risk because they have lost their use. Also, the Castro Laboreiro Cao, a hunting dog, is today no longer as common as it used to.
Castro Laboreiro Hound
History
The oldest proof of human settlements are the 5,000 year old dolmen in Castro Laboreiro, Mourela, Mezio, Paradela, Cambeses, Pitões and Tourem. The menhir of Ermida stands at Ponte da Barca ).
Various Roman roads such as the Roman Geira cross the park and bear witness to milestones and bridges of Roman colonization. One of the streets combined Astorga (Spain ) with Braccara Augusta (now Braga, Portugal). Large sections of the Rio Homem along are still well preserved.
From the 20th century it was common for mountain populations to live in two separate villages, mostly near Castro Laboreiro: In the summer in Oberndorf, often above 1,000 m, known as Branda (from the Portuguese brando, which means mild ). The rest of the year was mostly spent in a river valley in the winter village, which is also known as inverneira (from the Portuguese Inverno what winter means ). With modern construction and transportation technology such use was virtually abandoned.
Tourism and Education
The National Park Police and park rangers are trying simultaneously to promote tourism, but also to control, so that nature does not suffer any damage from an uncontrolled flow of tourists. Accordingly, there are six small campsites and marked trails to choose that make it relatively easy to find the most interesting points like the Castro on Castro Laboreiro and Calcedonia and the monasteries in the Pitões Júnias. Wild Camping ( " backpackers " ) will no longer be tolerated today. To have access to the national park, every visitor has to pay € 2.50 ( as of July 2013) at the park rangers to support and promote the work of the National Park.
Most visits are the places on the few main roads. Many of them are related to strict religiosity of the people in the north of Portugal, including the shrines in Senhora da Peneda, " Nossa Senhora da Abadia " and São Bento da Porta Aberta. Others, such as Soajo and Lindoso show traditional small barns, the Espigueiros (from the Portuguese espiga what ( corn ) piston means ). These corn storage were established with the introduction of maize cultivation. They were built on stilts around curved wood and provided with a pointed thatched roof. Later, they were built from weather resistant granite. Thus, protecting the grain against rats, mice and rot.
From tourists heavily visited the waterfalls near the old border station to Spain in Portela do Homem, and a water fountain from the pure mountain water are flowing.
During the filling of the dam Vilarinho das Furnas of the Rio Homem the village Vilarinho das Furnas in 1970 flooded. In years of low rainfall, the village ruins protruding from the water and attracts many tourists.
In collaboration with the nearby University of Minho in Braga some studies and research in geology and biology have been made.
Roman milestone in Valenca
Church in Castro Laboreiro
Senhora da Peneda