Portugal is situated on the western coast of the Iberian Peninsula, bound on the north and east by Spain and on the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean. It lies between latitudes 37 and 42 north, and longitudes 6 1/4 and 9 1/2 west of Greenwich. The form is approximately rectangular, with a maximum length of 362 miles, a maximum breadth of 140 miles and an area of 35,490 square miles. For purposes of administration, it is officially divided into districts, but the old provincial divisions (which came about because of differences of soil, climate and the character of the population) has not lost its meaning and is still employed in common parlance. The names of these provinces are Entre-Douro-e-Minho, Traz-os-Montes, Beira, Estremadura, Alemtejo, and Algarve. The island groups of Madeira, Porto Santo and the Azores are considered part of Continental Portugal, the other possessions being colonies. Excluding these islands, Portugal has a sea-board of nearly 500 miles and a land frontier of about 620 miles, the greater part of which is marked by rivers or mountains. Portugal and Spain are not separated by a strongly marked natural boundary.

Portugal is roughly divided into three zones: (1) the northern, which is mountainous and rises from 1800 to 5000 feet, including the Serra do Gerez, notable for its vegetation and thermal springs; (2) the central, a zone of extensive plains divided by mountain ranges, among the latter being the Serra da Estrella (6540 feet), the highest and largest in the country; (3) the southern, the most extensive of the three, almost entirely composed of low-lying plains and plateaus of small altitude. In all these regions the mountains are usually prolongations of Spanish systems. The only independent range of importance is the Serra de Monchique. Briefly, in the north, Portugal has many chains of mountains, plateaus of considerable height, and deep narrow valleys; in the centre, together with high and extensive mountains, we find broad valleys and large plains. Lastly, south of the Tagus, the country is one of plains throughout the Alemtejo, but in the Algarve it again becomes hilly, though the altitudes are rarely considerable. The chief rivers are: (a) the Minho, which forms the northern frontier; (b) the Douro, which rises in Spain and enters the sea near Oporto, about one-third of its course being in Portugal; (c) the Mondego, the largest river rising in Portugal, which enters the sea at Figueira after a course of 140 miles; (d) the Tagus, which rises in Spain, forms above Lisbon a gulf more than eight miles wide, and enters the sea below that city, after a total course of nearly 500 miles, about one-third in Portugal; (e) the Sado, which flows out in a large estuary at Setubal; (f) the Guadiana, which serves in part as frontier between the two countries. The Tagus is navigable for small vessels as far as Santarem; the Guadiana, as far as Mertola. There are no lakes worthy of mention, the ria at Aveiro connecting with the sea.

Portugal has few good natural harbours. That of Lisbon is the best, and indeed one of the largest in Europe, and is of easy access at all times. The bar of the Douro is shallow and difficult; a fine artificial port has therefore been built at Leixões to serve Oporto. Setubal is a fair harbour, as is Villa Real de S. Antonio, in the Algarve, while Lagos Bay, in the same province, affords a secure anchorage for a numerous fleet. The other ports are only suitable for small craft and are continually being blocked by sand. Portugal is rich in metalliferous deposits, including antimony, copper, manganese, uranium, lead, tin and iron. Coal is scarce and of poor quality. The country has more than a hundred mineral springs, of which the most important are Gerez and Vizella (Minho), Vidago, Pedras Salgadas, and Moledo (Traz-os-Montes), S. Pedro do Sul and Felgueira (Beira Alta), Caldas da Rainha (Estremadura), Moura (Alemtejo), and Monchique (Algarve). A branch of Gulf Stream runs down the West Coast and the climate is temperate, but it differs from province to province according to soil, distance from the sea, etc.; while equable on the coasts, it is subject to sudden changes inland. The plateaux of Traz-os-Montes and Beira are cold and harsh, while the Algarve littoral is hot, but even where the temperature is most extreme, the thermometer rarely rises to 3 Fahrenheit or descends to 2 below freezing. Snow only falls in winter in the high mountains and in north. The rainfall is more abundant in the north. The rainfall is more abundant in the winter than the South, and on the littoral than inland. The humidity produces fogs which render the coasts dangerous to shipping. The most usual winds are north-west, north, and north-east, but in winter south-west winds prevail, accompanied by storms. The nortada and the east wind are dry and disagreeable. Generally speaking, the climate is healthy, the mean temperature being 61 Fahrenheit. In the eighteenth century Lisbon was much recommended by English physicians as a health resort, and Mont' Estoril, on the sea outside the estuary of Tagus, is now increasing in favour as a winter residence. 

The vegetation is rich, including nearly all the vegetable species of temperate climates and a large number of those found in hot countries. Among trees the pine is the most characteristic, but it does not grow south of the Sado. The pinhal of Leiria planted by King Denis is the largest forest and the mato of Busaco is famous for the size and variety of its trees. Fruit trees abound, especially on the Upper Douro, and in Beira. Olives and oranges are everywhere, the Algarve produces figs, and Traz-os-Montes almonds. The vine is universal and forms Portugal's principal wealth. The chief wines are port, which comes from the Douro region, and the wines of Beira and the Peninsula of Lisbon (Collares and Carcavellos), but the largest vineyard is found just south of the Tagus and is a recent creation. The cereals most grown are wheat, maize (Indian corn), and rye, but Portugal still has to depend on foreign countries for a portion of its bread supply. Wine, oil, fruit, vegetables, cattle, and cork are exported in large quantities, and the chief manufactures are cotton wool, gold and silver work, lace, and pottery. The fisheries are the main occupation of the coast population, and the sardine industry at Setubal is a flourishing one.

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