Ría de Pontevedra. General

Pontevedra

About this heritage

A ría is a geomorphological feature formed by the penetration of the sea into the mouth of a river. Thus, a ría could be defined as the shape taken by the mouth of a river in cases where a coastal valley is submerged by the sea as a result of a rise in its level. The Ría de Pontevedra is one of the main sea inlets of the Rías Baixas. With its 145 square kilometers of surface area, it is the third largest ría in Galicia. At the southern end of the ría opens the Aldán cove, which leads to the Ría de Aldán. In this ría are located the island of Tambo at the bottom of the ría and the Ons archipelago formed by the island of Ons and the island of Onza or Onceta situated at the mouth of the ría. The island of Tambo is a small island that has a lighthouse, three docks, and two beaches, Area da Illa and A Dreidá. On the other hand, the island of Ons is large and currently inhabited; together with the island of Onza or Onceta, this archipelago is part of the Maritime-Terrestrial National Park of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia. The depths of this ría range from 18 meters in the port of Marín to 60 meters at the southwest mouth of the ría. The closer to the interior of the ría, the greater the muddy or sandy sedimentation. In this ría are cities such as Pontevedra, fishing villages like Bueu, Marín, Combarro, or Loira, and tourist centers such as Sanxenxo and Portonovo, among others.

To learn more

The Ría de Pontevedra is the third largest ría in Galicia and is the most regular of all the Rías Baixas. Furthermore, it is one of the main sea inlets of the Rías Baixas. Along the coast of this ría pass two of the different routes currently existing to make the Camino de Santiago: the Portuguese Way and the Coastal Way. This ría is a place for various nautical activities such as sailing, kayaking, fishing, and scuba diving. There are different sailing schools and regattas in places like Sanxenxo, Portonovo, and Aguete. Sailing practice is also widespread in the ría; so much so that the Swiss sailing team trained here for the America's Cup. In summer, this ría hosts international team kayaking and sea kayak events for the celebration of the G.P. Príncipe de Asturias. Some of the fishing-related activities carried out in this ría include Atlantic salmon fishing in the Lérez River and surfcasting on the sandy beaches, as well as various boat fishing modalities. Regarding underwater activities, the sites include the seabeds of Ons, Cabo Udra, and A Mourisca, among others. The underwater fauna found in this ría is very diverse due to the presence of different underwater habitats. In areas with more sandy seabeds live rays, turbot, cuttlefish, and small bivalves such as cockles and razor clams. Where there are gravel seabeds, formed by mollusk shells, live octopuses, crabs, sole, and small sharks, among others. In zones with rocky seabeds, thanks to the richness of the waters, mussel and barnacle reefs form.

To know it better

Pontevedra has a large ría bearing its name, which is one of the three main sea entrances of the Galician Rías Baixas, being the most regular of them. It opens to the north from Punta de Cabicastro, located west of Playa de Canelas, and to the south up to Punta Centoleira. The Lérez River has its mouth between these points, joining the sea here. In the Ría de Pontevedra and its shores, art and history make a difference. We can find monasteries such as Poio or, a bit further away, Armenteira. It also has beautiful towns like Marín, or notable fishing neighborhoods such as Bueu. Additionally, there are localities in the area that have discovered tourism as their main source of income, such as Sanxenxo, Portonovo, or San Vicente de O Grove. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, Pontevedra is an administrative, monumental, tourist, and service city. A city of art and history, it has a monumental area that, after Santiago de Compostela, is the most important in Galicia.