Peneda-Gerês National Park

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Peneda-Gerês National Park (Portuguese: Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês, Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpaɾkɨ nɐsjuˈnal dɐ pɨˈneðɐ ʒɨˈɾeʃ]), also known simply as Gerês, is a national park in Norte Region, Portugal. Created in May 1971, it is the oldest protected area and the only national park in Portugal. It covers an area of 695.9 km2 (268.7 sq mi), occupying the Districts of Viana do Castelo, Braga, and Vila Real and bordering the Spanish Baixa Limia – Serra do Xurés natural park to the north, which forms the UNESCO biosphere reserve of Gerês-Xurés. Peneda-Gerês was given its name by its two main granite massifs, the Serra da Peneda and the Serra do Gerês which, with the Serra Amarela and the Serra do Soajo, constitute the park's highest peaks. On the other hand, the precipitous valleys, crossed by high flowing streams, host lush temperate broadleaf and mixed forests of oak and pine, being one of the last strongholds of the typical Atlantic European flora of Portugal, contrasting with an evolving Mediterranean biome. The park is also home to around 220 vertebrate species, some only native to the Iberian Peninsula including the threatened Pyrenean desman, Iberian frog, or gold-striped...

Probably due to the inhospitality of the Gerês Mountains, the oldest signs of human presence date only from 6000 BC to 3000 BC; dolmens and other megalithic tombs remain interspersed within the region, including near Castro Laboreiro and Mourela. Human activities consisted of animal husbandry and incipient agriculture, and archaeological evidence points to the beginning of a decrease in forest cover.

The Roman Geira, a Roman road, which formerly connected the Roman civitates of Asturica Augusta and Braccara Augusta, crossed what is now the park. Long stretches of the road along the Homem River are still preserved, as are several Roman bridges and numerous millenarium markers. The Germanic tribe of the Buri accompanied the Suebi in their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula and establishment in Gallaecia (modern northern Portugal and Galicia ). The Buri settled in the region between the Cávado and Homem rivers, in the area later known as Terras de Bouro ( Land of the Buri ). The move from the terraced cliffs and slopes to the lowland river valleys brought-on a patterned of new deforestation.

The reoccupation of mountain areas started in the 12th century, intensifying in the 16th century with the introduction of maize, beans, and potatoes from the Americas. Agricultural fields occupied former pastures, and these were displaced to more elevated areas resulting in a mosaic of fields, pastures, and forests.

The reforestation of uncultivated lands, imposed by the government in 1935, reduced the available pastures, and contributed to a rural exodus that continued after the 1950s. Yet it was still common practice for the residents of mountain communities to spend part of the year in two locations, primarily near Castro Laboreiro. From about Easter to about Christmas, residents would live in homes over 1,000 m above sea level, known as branda (from the Portuguese brando, meaning 'mild' or 'gentle'). In the remaining part of the year, these inhabitants would occupy homes in the river valley, known as inverneira (from the Portuguese inverno, meaning 'winter').

In 1970, the village of Vilarinho das Furnas was flooded with the construction of a dam on the Homem River. During years with low rainfall, the village ruins stands above the water, attracting a considerable number of tourists.

The creation of the national park (completed under decree no. 187/71, 8 May 1971) envisioned a planning area of mountainous spaces, in order to conserve the environment, while permitting human and natural resource activities, which would include educational, touristic and scientific projects. At heart is the conservation of soils, water, flora and fauna, in addition to the preservation of landscapes within the vast mountainous region in the northwest of Portugal.

In 1997, Peneda-Gerês was included in the Natura 2000 network, and in 1999, designated a Special Protection Area for Wild Birds. Moreover, it also encompasses an important area of natural forest, which forms part of the European Network of Biogenetic Reserves, and is recognized as a national park by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. In 2007, it was accepted in the PAN Parks network that certifies the quality protected areas, according to rigorous criteria of nature conservation, cultural services and sustainability.

The Peneda-Gerês National Park is located in the northwest of Portugal, extending through the municipalities of Melgaço, Arcos de Valdevez and Ponte da Barca (in the district of Viana do Castelo ), Terras de Bouro (district of Braga ), and Montalegre (district of Vila Real ). The park includes an area of 702.90 km 2, of which 52.75 km 2 are public lands, 194.38 km 2 are private property and the remaining 455.77 km 2 are commons.

Panorama of the Vilarinho das Furnas Dam - Panorama of the Serra do Geres

The park is a vast amphitheatre-shaped space sculpted during the Variscan orogeny by geological forces, wind and water, and extends from the Castro Laboreiro to the Mourela plateaus, encompassing the Serra da Peneda, Serra do Soajo, Serra Amarela and the Serra do Gerês. These form a barrier between the ocean plains to its west and the plateaus in the east. The highest peaks are Peneda (1340 m), Soajo (1430 m), Amarelo (1350 m), Gerês (1545 m) and Altar dos Cabrões (1,538 m) located on the border with Galicia, continuing into this territory as part of the Serra do Xurés.

The granitic rocks that dominate this shield were deposited during the process of continental collision that brought together the lower Iberian peninsula with Europe, between 380 million and 275 million years; the oldest of them, at Amarela, date from 310 million years ago. The most extensive of the granitic rocks that occur within the park are the Peneda-Gerês pluton which is an exposed relief that became exposed around 290-296 Ma by the Gerês-Lovios fault. Sedimentary layers laid down between 435 and 408 Ma ( Silurian epoch) were deformed and metamorphosed into schists, greywackes and quartzites (such as in the area of Castro Laboreiro). Also, dykes and sills formed from quartz and aplite-pegmatites were mineralized resulting in tin, tungsten, molybdenum and gold (which would become the focus of mining in the human era, at the now-closed mines of Carris and Borrageiro). Generally, the lithological structures can be divided into three layers:

- Gerês granite structures - includes Gerês, Paufito, Carris, Borrageiro and Tieiras, and is composed of special mineralogical and geochemical intrusions that occurred through third phase of Hercynian faults, caused by a differentiating of basic magmas. The terrain in these regions include a vigorous relief, a rounded granite petrography, such as in the Serra da Peneda;

- older granite structures - includes a very heterogeneous group of Mezio, Soajo, Serra Amarela, Linhoso, Parada, Tourém, Pedrada e Ermida, Germil, Sezelhe and Frades, with a texture and composition that quite variable, from the crustal fusion of various materials with surface contamination;

- sedimentary formations - includes sediments deposited in Silurian waters and metamorphosed during the Devonian period, as well as carbon and more recent sediments, resulting during the Quaternary. The first group includes principally schists and quartz - feldspar, greywackes and quartzites with meta-crystals, such as andalusite, cordierite and sillimanite. These sedminentary deposits are prominently preserved in two linear patches: Vale das Antas and Louriça, near Castro Laboreiro, between two granite structures. The most recent geological formations are those created by fluvial, torrential and glacial deposits. During the Pleistocene (approximately 1.8 to 0.001 Ma ago) climatic variations resulted in an extension of glacial fields to the mid-latitudes. While there are no remnants of glaciers now, their Ice Age products (U-shaped valleys, moraines, glacial deposits, polished and natural granite surfaces) are identified in the Serra da Peneda, Serra do Soajo and Serra do Gerês mountain ranges. The principal watersheds that cross the park are those of the Minho (occupying 2% of the park), Lima (47.8%) and Cávado (50.2%), with brooks and waterfalls common on many of the mountain slopes, in addition to several secondary tributaries (such as the Homem, Rabagão, Castro Laboreiro, and Arado rivers). The Lima cuts across the PNPG east to west, while the Cávado serves the southern limits of the districts of Vila Real and Braga. Fractures in the landscape have confined the rivers to deep, straight valleys and are visible in the younger granite outcrops visible in the uncovered higher altitudes. Owing to the number tributaries, the construction of hydroelectrical dams has been undertaken to generate electricity across six locations: Alto Rabagão, Paradela, Caniçada, Vilarinho da Furna, Touvedo and Lindoso.

Soils within the elevated terrains and inclined spaces are non-existent, while the valleys are rich and deep, deposited and transported by pluvial action. These strata are textured, permeable, easily worked, albeit with a weak consistency, and marked by the peculiarities of local agriculture. The incorporation of biomass and elevated precipitation, along with the low autumn-winter temperatures give an origin to the alterations in pH levels. The elevated levels of incompletely decomposed organic material, low in phosphorus and intermittently low/high in potassium, are subject of alluvial deposition.

The region of the Parque Nacional Peneda Gerês falls within a transitional zone between the Atlantic and Mediterranean environments, and is influenced by various climatic systems: Atlantic, Mediterranean and Continental. Its climate is greatly influenced by the topography; the mountains exert a barrier effect to the passage of hot and wet air masses coming from the Atlantic Ocean, resulting in elevated precipitation throughout the year.

It falls in a part of Portugal (and Europe) that is affected by extreme rainfall, obtaining precipitation levels of 3,200 millimetres (130 in) per year on higher altitudes, and 1,600 millimetres (63 in) at lower altitudes, with more than 130 rainy days per year. Average daily high temperatures range from 10 to 21 °C (50 to 70 °F), with some variation; the high lands have an average high temperature of about 11 °C (52 °F), ranging from 4 to 20 °C (39 to 68 °F), one of the few places in Portugal with an oceanic climate, while areas in the valleys (such as the Homem, Lima and Cávado river valleys) have warmer climates, with daily max temperatures ranging from 12 to 28 °C (54 to 82 °F) (with an average of 20 °C (68 °F)), transitioning into a Hot-summer Mediterranean climate.

Consequently, the area is prone to various micro-climates, affected by variations in altitude, topographic characteristics, human occupation, different exposures and thermal variation. Similarly, this difference has resulted in an interchange of vegetation characteristic of Mediterranean, Euro-Siberian and Alpine environments.

Rivas-Martinez defined the foothills of both the Serra do Gerês and the Serra da Cabreira (lands below the Tâmega, Ave and Cávado watersheds) as the frontier between the Euro-Siberian and Mediterranean regions, granting a significant floral and phytogeographic importance to the National Park.