The geomorphological landscape of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro

Abstract

The main geomorphological features of the eastern part of the Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro region are presented, namely the Iberian Meseta, the residual ridges, the Serra de Montesinho, the tectonic landforms and the Douro River incision. The Iberian Meseta is represented by extensive plateaus shaped in pre-Mesozoic rocks of the Iberian Massif. Above the Meseta plateaus, Appalachian- type reliefs are built in metamorphic rocks, testifying an older planation surface. Below the plateaus, the incised river network and the canyon-type Douro River Valley in the Portugal–Spain border region reveal a recent Atlantic capture of the northern interior of Iberia. Nonetheless, it is the Vilariça NNE-SSW trending strike-slip fault system that is the main source for the push-up elevations and strike-slip tectonic basins bordered by pop-up type mountains that define the tectonic landscape of the region ; This work was co-funded by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund, based on COMPETE 2020 (Programa Operacional da Competitividade e Internacionalização), project ICT (UID/GEO/04683/2013) with reference POCI-01-0145- FEDER-007690 and Portuguese national funds pro vided by Fundação para a Ciência e ...