Serra da Estrela (English: Mountain of the Star) is the highest mountain range in Portugal and includes mainland Portugal's highest peak (Pico mountain in the Portuguese Azores islands is higher), which has a natural altitude of 1993 m (around 6541 feet). However, in 1716 - 1726 the Portuguese king João V ordered the construction of a 7 m tall tower so that the peak could reach 2000 m. The location of this tower is known as "Torre" ("Tower", literally translated). Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1536, 893 KB) Description: pt: Vista sobre a vertente Sudoeste (onde se encontra a Torre e o ponto mais elevado com 1993m) da Serra da Estrela a partir do Vale do Alva. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1536, 893 KB) Description: pt: Vista sobre a vertente Sudoeste (onde se encontra a Torre e o ponto mais elevado com 1993m) da Serra da Estrela a partir do Vale do Alva. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1521x1140, 252 KB) Vista da Serra da Estrela, Portugal File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Serra da Estrela Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1521x1140, 252 KB) Vista da Serra da Estrela, Portugal File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Serra da Estrela Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from... A mountain range is a group of mountains bordered by lowlands or separated from other mountain ranges by passes or rivers. ... Continental Portugal (Portuguese: Portugal Continental) is the designation of the mainland Portugal territory, in the Iberian Peninsula, located in the Continental Europe. ... Location Motto of the autonomous region: Antes morrer livres que em paz sujeitos (Portuguese: To die free rather than to be subjugated in peace) Official language Portuguese Capitals Ponta Delgada (Presidency of the autonomous government), Angra do Heroísmo (Supreme Court), Horta (Legislative Assembly) Other towns Praia da Vitória... // Events August 5 - In the Battle of Peterwardein 40. ... Events George Friderich Handel becomes a British subject. ... John V (Portuguese João) the Magnanimous (Port. ...

The mountain range is about 100 km long and is 30 km at its widest point. It is formed from a huge granite ridge that once formed the southern frontier of the country. Due to its bizarrely shaped crags and gorges, mountain streams and lakes, beautiful forests and magnificent views, the area ranks among Portugal’s outstanding scenic attractions.Viriathus,famous lusitanian leader and portuguese national hero was born here,precisely in Loriga. Quarrying granite for the Mormon Temple, Utah Territory. ...

Mondego river

The Mondego river which is the biggest river of Portugal entirely set in Portuguese territory, rises in the Serra da Estrela. The Rio Mondego (Mondego River) is the biggest river exclusively in Portuguese territory. ...

Natural Park

The mountain range is now part of the Serra da Estrela Natural Park and offers plentiful skiing opportunities. Serra da Estrela Natural Park is situated in the largest mountain range of Portugal - the Serra da Estrela, and is the source of the rivers Mondego, Zêzere and Alva. ... Deep powder skiing An alpine skier Members of the US Air Force skiing (and snowboarding) at Keystone Resorts 14th Annual SnoFest Skiing is the activity of gliding over snow using skis (originally wooden planks, now usually made from fiberglass or related composites), with metal edges, strapped to the feet...

Serra da Estrela dog

The Serra da Estrela Dog (Cão da Serra da Estrela) is a breed of mountain dog that takes its name from this region. The Serra da Estrela Mountain Dog, also known as Portuguese Sheepdog or Cao de Serra de Estrela exists in two forms, the long- and the shorthaired one. ...

Serra da Estrela cheese

Queijo Serra da Estrela (Serra da Estrela cheese) is a cheese from the region of Serra da Estrela. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Cheese is a solid food made from the milk of cows, goats, sheep, and other mammals. ...

History, legends and myths

Viriathus, the famous Lusitanian leader and Portuguese national hero, is said to have been born in the Serra da Estrela,precisely in Loriga. During the Roman Empire, Serra da Estrela was known as Herminius Mons (Mountains of Hermes). Viriathus (known as Viriato in Portuguese and Castilian) (180 BC - 139 BC) was the most important leader of the Lusitanian tribe that resisted Roman expansion into the regions of Western Iberia, where the Roman province of Lusitania would be established (in the areas comprising Portugal, south of the Douro river... Loriga is an ancient and historic small Portuguese town, located in the Serra da Estrela mountains. ... Hermes bearing the infant Dionysus, by Praxiteles Hermes (Greek IPA: ), in Greek mythology, is the Olympian god of boundaries and of the travellers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures and invention and commerce in general...

A legend associated with the mountain is mentioned in chaper 41 of the American literary classic, Moby Dick: For the song by Led Zeppelin, see Moby Dick (song). ...

"... the prodigies related in old times of the inland Strello mountain in Portugal (near whose top there was said to be a lake in which the wrecks of ships floated up to the surface)..."

External links

• Postcards from Serra da Estrela
• Loriga - Serra da Estrela

Coordinates: 40°20′N 7°38′W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...