Tagus

The Tagus (ˈteɪɡəs ; Tajo ˈtaxo; Tejo ˈtɛʒu; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward with two main south-west sections, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Its drainage basin covers – exceeded in the peninsula only by the Douro. Several dams and diversions supply drinking water to population centers of central Spain and Portugal, and dozens of hydroelectric stations produce power. Between dams it follows a very constricted course, but after Almourol, Portugal, it expands into a wide alluvial valley, with a floodplain. It culminates in a large estuary at the Port of Lisbon in the capital city of Portugal. The source is specifically, in political geography, at the Fuente de García in the Frías de Albarracín municipality; in physical geography, in the Sistema Ibérico (Iberian System), covering the notably high mountains of the Sierra de Albarracín Comarca. The most plentiful tributaries (originating in the Central System mountain range) are on right bank, to the north. The river flows in Spain, along the two countries' borders and in Portugal. The river flows through many cities, including Aranjuez, Toledo and Talavera de la Reina in Spain, and Abrantes, Santarém, Almada and Lisbon in Portugal. The Spanish capital, Madrid, lies on the right-bank side of the Tagus basin. The first notable city on the Tagus is Sacedón. Below Aranjuez it receives the combined flow of the Jarama, Henares, Algodor and Tajuña. Below Toledo it receives the Guadarrama River. Above Talavera de la Reina it receives the Alberche. At Valdeverdeja is the upper end of the long upper reservoir, the Embalse de Valdecañas, beyond which are the Embalse de Torrejon, into which flows the Tiétar, and the lower reservoir, formed by the Alcántara Dam, into which flows the Alagón at the lower end. A canal and aqueduct are between the Tagus and the Segura for the Tagus-Segura Water Transfer.