Tâmega (river) facts for kids
The Tâmega River is a river that flows through two countries: Galicia, Spain and Portugal. It starts its journey near a town called Verín in Spain. From there, it flows south into Portugal, passing through the regions of Trás-os-Montes and Douro Litoral.
The Tâmega River is a branch, or tributary, of the larger Douro River. After leaving Verín, it reaches the Portuguese city of Chaves. It then flows through a very fertile area known as the Veiga valley. Below Chaves, the river becomes narrower as it winds through mountains and valleys.
The Tâmega River is not easy to travel on by boat because its water level is often low. It also has many small dams along its path. It flows through cities like Amarante and Marco de Canaveses. Finally, it joins the Douro River near a place called Entre-os-Rios. This name actually means "between the rivers," which makes sense!
The Tâmega River is more important for its history than for its economy. For a long time, it was a path for armies to invade Portugal, especially when they wanted to reach the richer southern parts of the country. The valley around Chaves, in particular, has seen many battles and invading armies throughout history.
Like many rivers around the world, the Tâmega has faced problems with pollution. Companies used to take a lot of sand and gravel from the river, which also harmed it. This made the water quality much worse. Another issue the river faces is occasional flooding.
Since 1988, things have started to get better for the Tâmega. A dam called the Torrão dam was finished near the town of Entre-os-Rios. After this, taking sand from the river was stopped. Many cities upstream also built modern plants to treat their sewage. This has slowly helped the river become cleaner.
New Dam Projects
There are plans for a new dam to be built between the city of Amarante and the town of Mondim de Basto. This project has a few important goals. One is to produce electricity. Another main goal is to help control floods. It will do this by sending some of the water flow towards a smaller river called the Olo.
A large power plant that stores energy, called a pumped-storage hydroelectricity facility, started working in 2022. It can store a lot of electricity, about 40 GWh. This project cost around €1.5 billion. There are plans to add three more power-generating units, which will greatly increase its storage power to 880 MW. The project also includes two smaller power plants that use the natural flow of the river, known as run-of-the-river hydroelectricity facilities.
Transport
The Tâmega line was a special narrow-gauge railway line. It followed the river very closely for many years but closed down in 2009.
See also
- List of rivers of Portugal
- List of rivers of Spain
- Rivers of Galicia
