In the context of the Central Region of mainland Portugal, the Estrela Geopark includes nine municipalities that surround the Serra da Estrela, which gives them identity and territorial cohesion. This territory is characterized by a diverse landscape, that results from multiple geological transformations, climatic contrasts, as well as its ancient human occupation. This is a place where the wild beauty merges with the millennial history, with Estrela being the agglutinating element of a territory that develops around a mountain that was once a factor of separation and that today joins nine municipalities.
This glacial valley, controlled by the fault that extends from Bragança to Unhais da Serra, illustrates the main characteristics of a valley glaciation, with overdeepenings and riegels, moraine deposits illustrating different phases of glac ...
This peak, with an altitude of 1875 meters, was a nunatak during the last glaciation, remaining above the surface of glaciers and thus preserving the shape that is observed. This was due to the presence of less fractured zones, in contrast ...
It is the most rugged peak of the Estrela with 1928 meters of altitude, deeply incised by glacial erosion in its flanks, having formed a nunatak during the last glaciation, that is, this relief was not covered by glacial ice, emerging above ...
The Interpretation Center of the Serra da Estrela (CISE) is a structure of the Municipality of Seia, oriented to the development of activities of environmental education and valorization of the environmental heritage of the Serra da Estrela ...
The CITEG, located in the Tower of Serra da Estrela, aims at recognizing and valorising the Natural and Cultural Heritage of this territory, as well as safeguarding its identity.
The Interpretative Centre of the Zêzere Glacial Valley, inaugurated on March 4, 2013, aims at showing other perspectives and visions of the Zêzere Glacial Valley and the tourist potential of the Municipality of Manteigas. A unique equipment ...
These are glacial overdeepenings in the Zêzere valley, filled by post-glacial deposition and used in the past for agriculture and shepherding. These sites demonstrate the erosive capacity of the glacier, which originated poorly drained basi ...
This site of geological interest shows a large granitic tower (tor) at the top of the western slope of the Muxagata creek. Tors form due to the erosion of sandy materials derived from the deep weathering of granites, which cause the outcrop ...
The Fragão do Corvo panorama is located on a tor at an altitude of about 1440 m. Its genesis is linked to the erosion of clays and sands from the deep weathering of granite, which caused the outcropping of fresh and hard core stones. The bo ...
In a typical granite weathering landscape, the Fragões das Penhas Douradas, located at a summit position south of Vale do Rossim, are majestic granite outcrops that protrude above de sands that make up the weathering mantle. Its forms are c ...
Covão Cimeiro is a perfect glacial cirque, showing vertical backwalls, with 300 meters relief, and a poorly drained basin, which is a glacial overdeepening – the Covão. Downstream from the overdeepening a convex rock outcrop almost closes t ...
Between the glacial cirque of Covão do Ferro, the Zêzere glacial valley and the Cântaro Raso, the Covão do Boi, located at 1840 meters a.s.l., appears. In this geosite we find a set of granite columns, with diameters of 2 to 5 meters and be ...
This is one of the geosites that best exemplifies glacial erosion in the Serra da Estrela, with glacial polished surfaces, erratic boulder fields, roches moutounnées, and glacial striations, still well observed in the landscape around Lagoa ...
At 1420 meters above sea level, the moraine field of Lagoa Seca is an important evidence of the glacial dynamics of the Zêzere Valley, witnessing several phases of its total filling with over 250 m of ice thickness. In this geosite there ar ...
Above an altitude of about 780 meters the Loriga valley shows the action of the last glacial period, from which it gains the designation of Loriga glacial valley. With a typical U-shaped cross-section, the valley was sculpted by the Loriga ...
The geology of Quinta da Taberna and its surroundings is characterized by the presence of ancient sedimentary rocks that underwent metamorphism, becoming metasedimentary rocks, with outcrops showing intercalations of schists and greywackes. ...
Built over granite rocks, 700 meters a.s.l, the Mocho Real panorama offers an excellent view of the Mondego valley, the Caldeirão river gorge and the body of water of the dam with the same name. From this point we observe the human action a ...
Located about 1500 meters above sea level, between the valleys of Zêzere (to the north) and Alforfa (to the south), and being an area of transition between the western and eastern Estrela’s plateaus, the Nave de Santo António is one of the ...
The Penedo do Sino (Bell boulder) is a typical granite weathering landform showing a pedestal shape. These landforms can be up to a few meters large, are slightly elevated from the surrounding surface, and show the shape of a mushroom, with ...
In the granite weathering landscape of this area one can identify several landforms such as tors, nubbins, boulders and other peculiar shapes. These have their origin in the deep chemical weathering of the granite under warm and wet climate ...
More than 300 million years ago, during a long period of tectonic plate collision, granitic magmas installed at depth. This intrusion of magmas at high temperature led to the overheating of the surrounding rocks, recrystallizing their miner ...
The southern slope of the Cântaro Magro is bounded by a faulted sector, showing a dolerite dike intrusion, a magmatic rock with a mineral composition similar to basalt. The dike is deeply weathered and weaker than the granite country-rock a ...
The Torre Plateau, with an elevation rising from about 1,500 m in the north, at Penhas Douradas, to 1993 m at the Alto da Torre, is the highest summit in mainland Portugal. About 20 million years ago, after a phase of tens of millions of ye ...
From here you can enjoy a magnificent panoramic view over Cova da Beira and further away, to the Castelo Branco Surface. These were the surfaces that, about 10 million years ago, gave origin to Serra da Estrela, which raised between tectoni ...
The Zêzere valley is a perfect example of glacial erosion. With a U-shaped cross-section profile along 10 km, between Covão da Ametade and the town of Manteigas, the valley presents in its upstream sector a succession of overdeepenings, rie ...