The most northern mountain mass of Portugal, that of the Peneda of Gavieiro (4,727 feet), rises abruptly beyond the region of forest, and commands the Sierra Peñagache (4,065 feet) on the Spanish frontier to the east, as well as the hills of Santa Luzia (1,814 feet) and others near the coast. Another mountain mass rises {474} immediately to the south of the gorge through which the Limia passes after leaving Spain. This is the Serra do Gerez (4,815 feet), a range of twisted, grotesquely shaped mountains, the only counterpart of which in the peninsula is the famous Serranía de Ronda. This range, together with the Larouco (5,184 feet), to the east of it, must be looked upon as the western extremity of the Cantabrian Pyrenees, and like them it consists of granitic rocks.

The flora of these northern frontier mountains of Portugal much resembles that of Galicia, and on their slopes the botanist meets with a curious intermingling of the vegetation of France, and even Germany, with that of the Pyrenees, Biscay, and the Portuguese lowlands. On the southern summits, however, and more especially on the Serra de Marão (4,665 feet), which forms a bold promontory between the Douro and its important tributary the Tamega, and shelters the wine districts of Oporto from north-westerly winds, the opportunities for examining into the arborescent flora are but few, for the forests which once clad them have disappeared. The schistose plateaux to the east of them and to the north of the Douro have likewise been robbed of their forests to make room for vineyards. Most wild animals have disappeared with the forests, but wolves are still numerous, and are much dreaded by the herdsmen. The mountain goat (Capra ægagrus), which existed until towards the close of last century in the Serra do Gerez, has become extinct. The Serra da Cabreira (4,196 feet), to the east of Braga, is probably indebted for its name to these wild goats.

If the Serra do Gerez may be looked upon as the western extremity of the Pyrenean system, the magnificent Serra da Estrella (6,540 feet), which rises between the Douro and Tejo, is undoubtedly a western prolongation of the great central range of Spain which separates the plateaux of the two Castiles. These “Star Mountains” are attached to the mountains of Spain by a rugged table-land, or mesa, of comparatively small height. The great granitic Serra da Estrella rises gently above the broken ground which gives birth to the Mondego. It can easily be ascended from that side, and is hence known as the Serra Mansa, “the tame mountain.” On the south, however, above the valley of the Zezere, the slopes are abrupt and difficult of access, and are known for that reason as Serra Brava; that is, “wild mountain.” Delightful lakelets, similar to those of the Pyrenees and Carpathians, are met with near the highest summit of the range, the Malhão de Serra. The tops of the Serra da Estrella remain covered with snow during four months of the year, and supply the inhabitants of Lisbon with the ice required for the preparation of their favourite sherbet. The orographical system of the Estrella ends with the Serra de Lousão (3,940 feet), for the hills of Estremadura, which terminate in the Cabo da Roca, a landmark well known to mariners, belong to another geological formation, and consist for the most part of Jurassic strata overlying the cretaceous formation.

The mountains of Beira and Entre Douro e Minho are exposed to the full influence of the moisture-laden south-westerly winds, and the rainfall is considerable. The rain does not descend in torrents, as in tropical countries, but pours down steadily. It is more abundant in winter and spring, but not a month passes {475} without it. Fogs are frequent at the mouths of valleys and along the coast as far south as the latitude of Coimbra. At that place as much as sixteen feet of rain has fallen in a single year, an amount only to be equalled within the tropics.

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Fig. 193.—THE VALLEY OF THE LIMIA, OR LIMA.

Scale 1 : 300,000.

The humidity of the air accounts for the great equability of the climate of Northern Portugal. At Coimbra the difference between the coldest and warmest month amounts to but 20° F. Frosts are severe only on the plateaux exposed to the north-easterly winds, and the heat becomes unbearable in deep valleys alone, where the air cannot circulate freely.[173] At Penafiel, where the rays of the sun are thrown back by the rocky precipices, the heat is almost that of a furnace. This, however, is an exception, and the climate generally can be described as temperate.

Running water is abundant. Camões has sung the beauties of the fields of Coimbra watered by the Mondego, the charms of cascades sparkling amidst foliage, and the purity of the springs bursting forth from rocks clad with verdure. The Vouga, the affluents of the Douro, the Ave, Cavado, and Lima, likewise take their {476} devious courses through smiling landscapes whose beauties are set off by rocks and mountains. The Lima, whose delights might well cause Roman soldiers to forget the rivers of their own country, is the only river of the peninsula still in a state of geological transition. All others have drained the lakes which gave birth to them, but in the case of the Lima that old lake basin is still occupied by a swamp, known as Laguna Beon, or Antela, the only remains of a mountain-girt inland lake as large as that of Geneva.