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Portugal is
situated on the most south westerly tip of
mainland Europe. Portugal's only land boundary is with
Spain and measures 1,215 kilometres though it has an
impressive Atlantic coastline stretching 832 kilometres.
Portugal (mainland) has a total area
measuring around 92,000 square kilometres and is roughly
about twice the size of Scotland.
The
highest point in mainland Portugal is Torre
(tower) in the Serra da Estrela Mountains within the
Beira Alta region of the country. Torre, which is
actually a town and not the summit of a mountain range,
is home to the only ski resort within the country. Torre
is 1,993 metres above sea level (the exact point is
measured by the
Instituto Geográfico do Exército
at the centre of a
roundabout within the town). However under the orders of
Dom João VI a tower was constructed in the town to
help Portugal break the 2,000 metre mark in
mountain height. The tower still exists today, but is
not open to the public though can be seen at the ski
resort.
Mainland
Portugal suffers from earthquakes, the
most famous of which in 1755 destroyed the capital
Lisbon.
Since this earthquake, the country and it's government
has implemented laws to ensure buildings constructed are
able to withstand a tremor measuring 8 on the Richter
scale. |
