The Southwest Coast of Portugal

The southwest coast of Portugal is rich in natural heritage and is framed within the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park since 1995. Its complex geomorphological evolution reflects the geostructural position near the contact of the African plate and the Iberian microplate, and the relative sea-level changes and characteristics of the coastal systems. The major landform of the region is the Littoral Platform, tilted to the northwest and folded by meridian normal tectonic faults. These accidents cross a left lateral strike-slip fault—the longest NE–SW tectonic Iberian fault structure extended from Avila (Placencia) to Messejana and to the continental margin. The Pliocene and Pleistocene sediments occurring in the Littoral Platform show a composite evolution. Seaward, the platform is undercut by the coastal cliff, which is the prevailing present-day coastal feature, with narrow beaches, in a coast with sedimentary deficit in the longshore drift.