Tagus

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View over Tejo River from Almourol Castle in Portugal (May 2005).

Tagus (Latin Tagus, Spanish Tajo, Portuguese Tejo, pron. IPA: /'tɛʒu/) is the largest river on the Iberian Peninsula. It measures 1,038 kilometers in length, 716 km of which are in Spain, 47 km as border between Portugal and Spain and the remaining 275 km in Portugal.

The source of the Tagus is the Fuente de García, in the Albarracín mountains. It ends in the Atlantic Ocean by Lisbon. The largest bridge across the river is Vasco da Gama bridge with a total length of 17.2 km. It was for a long time also the largest bridge in Europe.

The main cities it passes through are Aranjuez, Toledo, Talavera de la Reina and Alcántara in Spain, and Constância, Santarem and Lisbon in Portugal.

The Portuguese regions of Alentejo and Ribatejo take their names from the river. Alentejo, from Além-Tejo (beyond the Tagus), and Ribatejo, from Arriba-Tejo (above the Tagus).

Its delta is partially inverted and forms a large lagoon.

See also: Transvasement.

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