Alcantarilha River

Alcantarilha River Ribeiro de Enxurrada[1]
Footbridge over the Alcantarilha river in the rivers saltmarshes
Red Dot = Alcantarilha River mouth
Native name	Ribeiro de Alcantarilha (Portuguese)
Location
Country	Portugal
Region	Algarve
District	Faro
Municipality	Silves
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Miões, Tunes, Algarve
• coordinates	37°11′58.6″N 8°17′10.0″W
Mouth	The south central coast of the Algarve into the Atlantic at Armação de Pêra
• coordinates	37.098646°N 8.351795°W / 37.098646; -8.351795
Length	12.2 mi (19.6 km), North east to South

The Alcantarilha River (Portuguese pronunciation: [alˌkɐ̃tɐˈɾiʎɐ]) is a small river in the south central region of the Algarve, Portugal. The river begins at the conflux of three tributary streams a little south of the village of Miões in the municipality of Silves.[2][3] Downstream the river also has several further tributaries including the Algoz River (Ribeiro de Algoz). The river runs for a length of 12.2 miles (19.6 km) from its conflux to the mouth at the Atlantic Ocean in south central Algarve.

Description

The Armação de Pêra wetlands

The river runs south towards the south coast and its mouth is at Armação de Pêra.[4][5] At Armação de Pêra the river is the main tributary to an area of shallow salt marsh which over the years has been neglected and is polluted.[6] Plans have been made to improve the environment in the near future as the wetlands are an important habitat for water fowl and a wintering and nesting site for a numerous species of birds. The wetland is also an important stopping point for thousands of migrating birds.

References

1. Garcia Domingues, José Domingos. Silves: Tourist Guide to the Town and Borough. Câmara Municipal de Silves. p. 117. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
2. "49-D Silves" (Map). Sheet map scale 1:50 000 Carta Corografica De Portugal – 49D Map showing the confluence of the streams that form the Alcantarilha River. Instituto Geografico Portugues. ISBN 9789728867102.
3. "49-D Silves". Listing of the Map on Stanford’s website. Stanfords Bookshop. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
4. "52-B Albufeira". Listing of the Map on Stanford’s website. Stanfords Bookshop. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
5. "52-B Albufeira" (Map). Sheet map scale 1:50 000 Carta Corografica De Portugal – 52B Map showing the Alcantarilha River and the wetlands at Armacao de Pera. Instituto Geografico Portugues.
6. "Algarvepress – Monthly Archives: March 2013 - Members of PS want regeneration of Ribeira Alcantarilha and Marshland Armacao de Pera". reference to the neglected and polluted wetland and river. AlgarvePress. Retrieved 17 September 2014.