It is located on Rua Prof. José Pio Rodrigues 29, Vila de Fão, City and Municipality of Esposende, Northern Portugal
The North Coast Natural Park is a protected area in Portugal extending along 16 km of coast between the mouth of the Neiva River and the south of Apúlia in the administrative area of the municipality of Esposende between the mouth of the Neiva River and Apúlia.
The North Coast Natural Park is made up of river and sea beaches with reefs, dunes, pine forests, oak and agricultural areas, streams that flow directly into the sea.
The main watercourses are the Neiva River and the Cávado River (an estuary of enormous dimensions).
The protected area was created to conserve its natural, physical, aesthetic, scenic and cultural values, with special emphasis on preserving the dune system.
In the case of the North Coast Natural Park, the tourist attraction goes to populations in nearby urban centers such as Braga, Barcelos, Viana do Castelo, Guimarães and Porto.
Its proximity to the ocean means that the Park is constantly favored by air masses coming from the Atlantic with a lot of humidity, in addition to having many Mediterranean influences in its climate.
The average annual temperature of the Park is 14°C, with the average monthly values in summer being 20°C and 9°C in winter.
The Park's average humidity is high due to its proximity to the ocean, it is never less than 70% in the winter months and the lowest humidity is recorded in April.
In the North Coast Natural Park, 240 species of plants are inventoried and are distributed across the dunes, coastal lagoons, pine and oak forests.
On the coast, vegetation is extremely important in the fixation of sand and the formation of dunes, we find the following species: sea eruca (Cakile Maritima), sea thistle (Eryngium maritimum), sand hay (Elymus farctus), starling (Ammophila arenaria), beach lamb (Otanthus maritimus), the weeping weeping species (Carpobrotus edulis) and acacia (Acacia longifolia) were introduced with the aim of fixing the dune sands.
In the pine forest there are mostly pine stands, the largest patches of vegetation are found in the Apúlia and Fão areas, with maritime pine being the most predominant.
In estuaries, there are predominantly species adapted to salt due to the salt marsh and salt marsh areas because they are found close to the sea: the salt marsh and the grasses (sea salt flats).
Salt meadows and woodlands are the habitats that occur in greatest abundance, especially on the Cávado River where species such as reeds (Juncus acutus) and armeria (Armeriamaria) appear.
In the North Coast Natural Park, 220 species of vertebrates were inventoried, considering: 117 birds, 10 mammals, 6 reptiles, 6 amphibians and 72 species of fish.
Amphibians, for example: the pointy-snouted frog (Discoglossus galganoi), the black-clawed toad (Pelobates cultripes), the runner toad (Bufo calamita) and the turtle frog (Hyla arborea).
Examples include reptiles: the sardon (Lacerta lepida), water lizard (Lacerta schreiberi), mammals: the otter (Lutra lutra), the toirão (Mustela putorius) and the shrew.
Fish: eel (Anguilla anguilla), lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), yellowtail (Alosa fallax), shad (Alosa alosa) and mullet (Liza ramada).
The birds: the black-necked grebe (Podiceps nigricollis), the crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax aristotelis), the goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), the sap eagle (Circus aeruginosus), the osprey (Pandion haliaetus), and the lesser reed nightingale (Acrocephalus scirpaceus).
The North Coast Natural Park is made up of river and sea beaches with reefs, dunes, pine forests, oak and agricultural areas, streams that flow directly into the sea.
The main watercourses are the Neiva River and the Cávado River (an estuary of enormous dimensions).
The protected area was created to conserve its natural, physical, aesthetic, scenic and cultural values, with special emphasis on preserving the dune system.
In the case of the North Coast Natural Park, the tourist attraction goes to populations in nearby urban centers such as Braga, Barcelos, Viana do Castelo, Guimarães and Porto.
Its proximity to the ocean means that the Park is constantly favored by air masses coming from the Atlantic with a lot of humidity, in addition to having many Mediterranean influences in its climate.
The average annual temperature of the Park is 14°C, with the average monthly values in summer being 20°C and 9°C in winter.
The Park's average humidity is high due to its proximity to the ocean, it is never less than 70% in the winter months and the lowest humidity is recorded in April.
In the North Coast Natural Park, 240 species of plants are inventoried and are distributed across the dunes, coastal lagoons, pine and oak forests.
On the coast, vegetation is extremely important in the fixation of sand and the formation of dunes, we find the following species: sea eruca (Cakile Maritima), sea thistle (Eryngium maritimum), sand hay (Elymus farctus), starling (Ammophila arenaria), beach lamb (Otanthus maritimus), the weeping weeping species (Carpobrotus edulis) and acacia (Acacia longifolia) were introduced with the aim of fixing the dune sands.
In the pine forest there are mostly pine stands, the largest patches of vegetation are found in the Apúlia and Fão areas, with maritime pine being the most predominant.
In estuaries, there are predominantly species adapted to salt due to the salt marsh and salt marsh areas because they are found close to the sea: the salt marsh and the grasses (sea salt flats).
Salt meadows and woodlands are the habitats that occur in greatest abundance, especially on the Cávado River where species such as reeds (Juncus acutus) and armeria (Armeriamaria) appear.
In the North Coast Natural Park, 220 species of vertebrates were inventoried, considering: 117 birds, 10 mammals, 6 reptiles, 6 amphibians and 72 species of fish.
Amphibians, for example: the pointy-snouted frog (Discoglossus galganoi), the black-clawed toad (Pelobates cultripes), the runner toad (Bufo calamita) and the turtle frog (Hyla arborea).
Examples include reptiles: the sardon (Lacerta lepida), water lizard (Lacerta schreiberi), mammals: the otter (Lutra lutra), the toirão (Mustela putorius) and the shrew.
Fish: eel (Anguilla anguilla), lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), yellowtail (Alosa fallax), shad (Alosa alosa) and mullet (Liza ramada).
The birds: the black-necked grebe (Podiceps nigricollis), the crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax aristotelis), the goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), the sap eagle (Circus aeruginosus), the osprey (Pandion haliaetus), and the lesser reed nightingale (Acrocephalus scirpaceus).
