Tagus
Tajo (Spanish)
Tejo (Portuguese)
View of Tagus River in Toledo, Spain
Path of the Tagus through the Iberian Peninsula
EtymologyVulgar Latin taliāre, "to cut through"
Location
CountrySpain, Portugal
Physical characteristics
SourceFuente de García, Montes Universales
 • locationFrías de Albarracín, Spain
 • coordinates40°19′16″N 1°41′49″W / 40.321°N 1.697°W / 40.321; -1.697
 • elevation1,593 m (5,226 ft)
MouthEstuary of the Tagus, Atlantic Ocean
 • location
Lisbon, Portugal
 • coordinates
38°41′28″N 9°10′16″W / 38.691°N 9.171°W / 38.691; -9.171
 • elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Length1,007 km (626 mi)
Basin size80,100 km2 (30,900 sq mi)
Discharge 
 • average500 m3/s (18,000 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftGuadiela, Algodor, Gévalo, Ibor, Almonte, Salor, Sever
 • rightGallo, Jarama, Guadarrama, Alberche, Tiétar, Alagón, Zêzere
Tagus river gorge, in the Alto Tajo Nature Reserve, Guadalajara, Spain
The Tagus near Vila Velha de Ródão, Portugal.

The Tagus (/ˈteɪɡəs/ TAY-gəs; Spanish: Tajo [ˈtaxo]; Portuguese: Tejo [ˈtɛʒu]; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows 1,007 km (626 mi), generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon.[1]

Name

The river's Latin name is Tagus. While the etymology is unclear, the most probable etymological origin for the hydronym Tagus is Indo-European *(s)tag- ('to drip').[2]

Geology

The lower Tagus region in Portugal is a seismically active area. Major earthquakes in the Lower Tagus include those of 1309, 1531, and 1909.[3][4]

History

Tagus river seen from the Castle of Almourol, Portugal.

The Pepper Wreck, properly the wreck of the Nossa Senhora dos Mártires, is a shipwreck located and excavated at the mouth of the Tagus between 1996 and 2001.[5]

The Tagus river basin comprises 42 River Nature Reserves and is the river basin with the most protected areas in Spain.[1]: Prefacio 

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tagus River.

References

  1. 1 2 Riera Aragay, Ana; Sánchez, Javier (15 March 2023) [2022:GeoPlaneta]. Guía de las Reservas Naturales Fluviales de la cuenca del Tajo [Guía de las Reservas Naturales Fluviales de la cuenca del Tajo]. Madrid: GeoPlaneta. ISBN 9788408268888. OCLC 1376251354.
  2. ↑ Curchin, Leonard A. (2007). "Toponyms of Lusitania: a re-assessment of their origins" (PDF). Conímbriga. XLVI: 151. doi:10.14195/1647-8657_46_7.
  3. ↑ Hobbs, William Herbert (1907). Earthquakes: An Introduction to Seismic Geology. New York: D. Appleton and Company. pp. 142–144. Downloadable Internet Archive
  4. ↑ "Sismo sentido em Lisboa na mesma zona dos grandes abalos de 1531 e 1909" [Earthquake felt in Lisbon in the same area as the great earthquakes of 1531 and 1909] (in Portuguese). Diário de Notícias. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  5. ↑ Vieira de Castro, Filipe (2005). "6". The Pepper Wreck: A Portuguese Indiaman at the Mouth of the Tagus River. Ed Rachal Foundation nautical archaeology series. College Station: Texas A&M University Press. p. 87, 97, 100. ISBN 9781585443901. OCLC 56517607.

40°19′11″N 1°41′51″W / 40.31972°N 1.69750°W / 40.31972; -1.69750

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