ENTRE MINHO E DOURO (popularly called Minho), a former province of Portugal; bounded on the N. by Galicia in Spain, E. by Traz-os-Montes, S. by Beira and W. by the Atlantic ocean. Pop. (1930) 1,465,298; area 2,790 sq.m. Of the mountain ranges the most important are the Serra da Peneda (4,728 ft.), between the rivers Minho and Lima; the Serra do Gerez (4,357 ft.), on the Galician border; the Serra da Cabreira (4,021 ft.), immediately to the south; and the Serra de Marao (4,642 ft.), in the extreme south-east. As its name implies, the province was bounded by two great rivers, the Douro (q.v.) on the south, and the Minho (Spanish Wino) on the north. There are three other large rivers which, like the Minho, flow west-south-west into the Atlantic. The Limia or Antela (Spanish Linia) rises in Galicia, and reaches the sea at Vianna do Castello ; the Cavado forms, at its mouth, the small harbour of Espozende ; and the Ave descends from its sources in the Serra da Cabreira to Villa do Conde. A large right-hand tributary of the Douro, the Tamega, rises in Galicia, and skirts the western slopes of the Serra de Marao.
The climate is mild, except among the mountains, and such plants as heliotrope, fuchsias, palms, and aloes thrive in the open throughout the year. Wheat and maize are grown on the plains, and other important products are wine, fruit, olives and chest nuts. As the region is occupied by a hardy and industrious peasantry, and the density of population (525.1 per sq.m.) is more than twice that of any other district on the Portuguese mainland, the soil is very closely cultivated. Small quantities of coal, iron, antimony, lead and gold are mined ; granite and slate are quarried; and there are mineral springs at Moneao, which is on the river Minho. The Oporto-Corunna railway traverses the western districts and crosses the Spanish frontier at Tuy; its branch lines give access to Braga, Guimaraes and Povoa de Var zim ; and the Oporto—Salamanca railway passes up the Douro valley. The chief towns are separately described ; they include Oporto, one of the greatest wine-producing cities in the world; Braga, the seat of an archbishop who is primate of Portugal; the seaports of Povoa de Varzim and Vianna do Castello; and Gui maraes.