Coa River
Encyclopedia
The Côa River is a tributary of the Douro River, in central and northeastern Portugal
. It is one of the few Portuguese rivers that flows south to north. It flows through the municipalities of Sabugal Municipality, Almeida Municipality, Pinhel Municipality, Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo Municipality and Vila Nova de Foz Côa Municipality, all located in the Guarda District.
The Côa Valley is the site of ancient carvings in stone. It is of particular interest due to its high concentration of Paleolithic art, and because it is found outside of caves, on rocks in plain sight: Jean Clottes
, a prominent French prehistorian, had confirm that "is the biggest open air site of paleolithic art in Europe, if not in the world".
The drawings attracted worldwide attention when plans to build a hydroelectric dam across the Côa Valley threatened to submerge them. Although hydroelectric development was already well underway, outcry from locals, the scientific community and the media led to dam construction being halted in 1995, not before a significant proportion of the drawings in the Canada do Inferno area were already underwater. The Côa Valley Archaeological Park was opened in 1996http://www.ipa.min-cultura.pt/coa/, and was declared a protected UNESCO
world heritage site. http://www.manorhouses.com/unesco/whfozc.html in 1998.
The Côa river was also the site of the Côa Battle during the Peninsular War
. There are several castles along Terras de Riba-Côa, such as Sabugal and Pinhel.
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. It is one of the few Portuguese rivers that flows south to north. It flows through the municipalities of Sabugal Municipality, Almeida Municipality, Pinhel Municipality, Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo Municipality and Vila Nova de Foz Côa Municipality, all located in the Guarda District.
The Côa Valley is the site of ancient carvings in stone. It is of particular interest due to its high concentration of Paleolithic art, and because it is found outside of caves, on rocks in plain sight: Jean Clottes
Jean Clottes
Jean Clottes is a prominent French prehistorian. He was born in the French Pyrénées in 1933 and began to study archaeology in 1959, while teaching high school. He initially focused on Neolithic dolmens, which were the topic of his 1975 Ph.D. thesis at the University of Toulouse...
, a prominent French prehistorian, had confirm that "is the biggest open air site of paleolithic art in Europe, if not in the world".
The drawings attracted worldwide attention when plans to build a hydroelectric dam across the Côa Valley threatened to submerge them. Although hydroelectric development was already well underway, outcry from locals, the scientific community and the media led to dam construction being halted in 1995, not before a significant proportion of the drawings in the Canada do Inferno area were already underwater. The Côa Valley Archaeological Park was opened in 1996http://www.ipa.min-cultura.pt/coa/, and was declared a protected UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
world heritage site. http://www.manorhouses.com/unesco/whfozc.html in 1998.
The Côa river was also the site of the Côa Battle during the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
. There are several castles along Terras de Riba-Côa, such as Sabugal and Pinhel.