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The Douro (, ,
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> "Douro" (US) and , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish Soria Province, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern part of the Meseta Central in Castile and León into northern Portugal. Its largest tributary (carrying more water than the Douro at their confluence) is the right-bank Esla. The Douro flows into the Atlantic Ocean at Porto, the second largest city of Portugal.
The scenic Douro railway line runs close to the river. Adjacent areas produce port wine (a mildly fortified wine) and other agricultural produce. A small tributary of the river has the Côa Valley Paleolithic Art site which is considered important to the archaeological pre-historic patrimony, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Within Spain, it flows through the middle of the autonomous community of Castile and León, with the basin spanning through the northern half of the Meseta Central. The latter includes wine producing areas such as the Ribera del Duero DOP.
The possible origin is the hydronymic root *dur-, which is Pre-Indo-European or Pre-Celtic. Albert Dauzat linked this river name to a Pre-Celtic hydronymic root *dor-, which is well attested in Western Europe: in France Doire, Doron, Douron, etc. and in Italy Dora Riparia, etc.Albert Dauzat, Gaston Deslandes et Charles Rostaing, Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de rivières et de montagnes en France, Klincksieck, Paris, 1978, p. 41b. The meaning of this element is, however, unknown.
A False etymology derivation suggests that the name comes from the Portuguese or Spanish term for "golden".Nick Timmons, Portugal (1994), p. 99: "The Douro... the Golden River (d'ouro means 'of gold')..." DK Eyewitness Travel Guide Portugal (2016), p. 239: "...the Douro or "Golden River" weaves its scenic path through deep-cleft gorges..."
Part of the drainage basin might have been severely depopulated in the 8th century. According to Claudio Sánchez-Albornoz this was a deliberate act by Alfonso I of Asturias for the defence of his Kingdom, which led the area to be named Repoblación.
The Douro vinhateiro (vine-land) of the Douro Valley in Portugal, long devoted to , has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The wine was taken downriver in flat-bottom boats called Rabelo Boat, to be stored in barrels in cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia, just across the river from Porto. Nowadays Port wine is transported there in tanker trucks.
In the 1960s and 1970s, with locks were built along the river, allowing river traffic into the upper regions in Spain and along the border.
In 1998, Portugal and Spain signed the Albufeira Convention, an agreement on the sharing of trans-boundary rivers to include the Douro, Tagus and Guadiana. The convention superseded an agreement on the Douro, signed in 1927, that was expanded in 1964 and 1968 to include tributaries.
In its Spanish section, the Douro crosses the great Castilian Meseta Central and meanders through five provinces of the autonomous community of Castile and León: Soria Province, Burgos Province, Valladolid, Zamora Province, and Salamanca, passing through the towns of Soria, Almazán, Aranda de Duero, Tordesillas, and Zamora.
The most important tributaries in this region are the Pisuerga, passing through Valladolid, and the Esla River, which passes through Zamora Province. This region is generally semi-arid plains, with wheat and in some places, especially near Aranda de Duero, with , in the Ribera del Duero wine region. Sheep rearing is also important.
The drainage basin borders those of Miño to the north, Ebro to the east, and Tagus River to the south.
For , the river forms part of the border between Spain and Portugal, in a region of narrow . It formed a historical barrier to invasions, creating a cultural/linguistic divide. In these isolated areas, in which the Aldeadávila Dam impounds the river, there are protected areas: the International Douro Natural Park (on the Portuguese side) and the Arribes del Duero Natural Park (on the Zamora Province margin).
The Douro fully enters Portuguese territory just after the confluence with the Águeda River; once the Douro enters Portugal, major population centres are less frequent along the river. Except for Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia at the river mouth, the only population centres of any note are Foz do Tua, Pinhão and Peso da Régua. Tributaries here are small, merging into the Douro along the canyons; the most important are Côa, Tua River, Sabor River, Corgo River, Tavora River, Paiva River, Tâmega, and Sousa River. None of these small, fast-flowing rivers is navigable.
In Portugal, the Douro flows through the districts of Bragança, Guarda District, Viseu District, Vila Real, Aveiro District and Porto District. Porto is the main hub city in northern Portugal. Its historic centre has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its significant architecture and history.
Recently, a prosperous tourism industry has developed based on river excursions from Porto to points along the Upper Douro valley.
The Douro railway line (Linha do Douro) was completed in 1887; it connects Porto, Rio Tinto, Ermesinde, Valongo, Paredes, Penafiel, Livração, Marco de Canaveses, Régua, Tua and Pocinho.
Pocinho is near the very small city of Foz Côa, which is close to Côa Valley Paleolithic Art site. This is considered important to the archaeological pre-historic patrimony, and it has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Douro's last five dams are in Portugal, and allow for navigation: Pocinho Dam, Valeira Dam, Régua, Carrapatelo Dam, and Crestuma–Lever dams. Vessels with a maximum length of and width of can pass through the five canal lock. The highest lock, at Carrapatelo Dam, has a maximum lift of . The waters of Pocinho lake reach above sea level. Unannounced releases of water from upstream Spanish dams occasionally causes navigation issues in these locks.
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