Tagus river

The Tagus River is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. Its hydrographic basin is the third largest in the Peninsula, behind the Douro river and the Ebro river. It is born in Spain - where it is known as Tajo - at 1 593 m above sea level in the Albarracín Mountains, and after a distance of about 1 007 km, it flows into the Atlantic Ocean forming an estuary in Lisbon.

Its watershed is 80,600 km² (55,750 km² in Spain and 24,850 km² in Portugal), being the second most important in the Iberian Peninsula after the river Ebro.

On its banks are Spanish towns such as Toledo, Aranjuez and Talavera de la Reina, and Portuguese towns such as Abrantes, Santarém, Salvaterra de Magos, Vila Franca de Xira, Alverca do Ribatejo, Forte da Casa, Póvoa de Santa Iria, Sacavém, Alcochete, Montijo , Moita, Barreiro, Seixal, Almada and Lisbon.

The ships and caravels of the Portuguese discoveries departed from the Tagus estuary.

In Lisbon, the Tagus estuary is crossed by two bridges. The oldest is the 25 de Abril Bridge (opened in 1966, "Ponte Salazar"), one of the largest suspension bridges in Europe, and which links the capital of Portugal to Almada. The other is the Vasco da Gama Bridge, about 17 km long. It was inaugurated in 1998 and connects Lisbon (Sacavém) to Alcochete, Moita and Montijo. The widest part of this river is called Mar da Palha, a lake, and it lies between Lisbon, Vila Franca de Xira and Benavente.

Next to Vila Franca de Xira there is also the Marechal Carmona Bridge that connects the two banks. It was the closest bridge to Lisbon that connected the two banks of the river. After the opening of the 25 de Abril Bridge, the traffic on the Marechal Carmona Bridge decreased sharply.

At the entrance to the Tagus estuary there is a fortress (Forte de São Julião da Barra).

Every year in the port of Lisbon, hundreds of luxury boats dock, mainly at the Alcântara dock. In its estuary there is an ecological reserve (Natural Reserve of the Tagus Estuary, based in Alcochete) where several species of birds nest. Due to the great pollution of the river, there are no longer any dolphins permanently, but in recent years, during the summer, specimens have appeared, which after a good fishing trip return to the sea.

THE LEGEND OF SANTA IRIA AND NABIA, GODDESS OF RIVERS AND WATER 

The pagan belief in Nabia – or Nabanus – would give rise to the famous legend of Santa Iria (or Santa Irene) when, during the Visigothic period, Irene's body, after her martyrdom, was deposited in the sands of the Tagus River near the which were built several places of worship and gave rise to some place names such as Póvoa de Santa Iria.

With the introduction of Christianity, its name was given to the former Scallabis, the current city of Santarém.

 It is in the Tagus river that the waters of the Zêzere river flow, after having received them from the Nabão river, whose name comes from the goddess Nábia, goddess of rivers and water.

Legend has it that Iria – or Irene – was born in Nabância, a Roman villae near Sellium, the current city of Tomar. Coming from a wealthy family, Iria came to receive a painstaking education in a monastery of Benedictine nuns, which was governed by her uncle, Abbot Selio.