Tagus

Tagus Tajo  (Spanish) Tejo  (Portuguese)
View of Tagus River in Toledo, Spain
Path of the Tagus through the Iberian Peninsula
Etymology	Vulgar Latin taliāre, "to cut through"
Location
Country	Spain, Portugal
Physical characteristics
Source	Fuente de García
- location	Montes Universales, Sierra de Albarracín Comarca, Teruel, Aragon, Spain
- elevation	1,593 m (5,226 ft)
Mouth	Estuary of the Tagus
- location	Atlantic Ocean near Lisbon, Portugal
- elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	1,007 km (626 mi)
Basin size	80,100 km2 (30,900 sq mi)
Discharge
- average	500 m3/s (18,000 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
- left	Guadiela, Algodor, Gévalo, Ibor, Almonte, Salor, Sever
- right	Gallo, Jarama, Guadarrama, Alberche, Tiétar, Alagón, Zêzere

The Tagus near Vila Velha de Ródão, close to the Spanish border

Map of the Tagus river Basin

The Tagus (Spanish: Tajo [ˈtaxo]; Portuguese: Tejo [ˈtɛʒu]; Latin: Tagus; Ancient Greek: Τάγος Tagos) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula.

Geography

It is 1,007 km (626 mi) long, 716 km (445 mi) in Spain and 275 km (171 mi) in Portugal. For 47 km (29 mi) it forms the border between Portugal and Spain. The river flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Lisbon.

It drains an area of 80,100 square kilometers (30,927 sq mi) (the second largest in the Iberian peninsula after the Douro). The Tagus is highly utilized for most of its course. Several dams and diversions supply drinking water to most of central Spain, including Madrid, and Portugal, while dozens of hydroelectric stations create power.

Between dams it follows a very constricted course, but after Almourol it enters a vast alluvial valley prone to flooding. At its mouth is a large estuary on which the port city of Lisbon is situated.

The source of the Tagus is the Fuente de García, in the Frías de Albarracín municipal term, Montes Universales, Sistema Ibérico, Sierra de Albarracín Comarca. All its major tributaries enter the Tagus from the right (north) bank. The main cities it passes through are Aranjuez, Toledo, Talavera de la Reina and Alcántara in Spain, and Abrantes, Santarém, Almada and Lisbon in Portugal.

Other websites

Media related to Tagus River at Wikimedia Commons