The Castelo Branco District is a Portuguese district, located in the center-west of the country. It is limited to the north by the District of Guarda, to the east by Spain, to the south by the District of Portalegre, to the southwest by the District of Santarém, to the west by the District of Leiria and the northwest by the District of Coimbra. The district headquarters is the city of Castelo Branco.
It has a total area of 6,675 km², the 4th district with the largest area of all national districts. In 2022 it registered a population of 177,719 inhabitants, making it the 15th most populous district in the country. The district has a population density of 26 inhabitants per km² and is divided into 11 municipalities and 120 parishes.
Municipalities
The district of Castelo Branco is subdivided into the following eleven municipalities:
Belmonte
Castelo Branco
Covilhã
Fundão
Idanha-a-Nova
Oleiros
Penamacor
Proença-a-Nova
Sertã
Vila de Rei
Vila Velha de Ródão
In the current main division of the country, the district is integrated into the Central Region and divided into three subregions, one of which is part of a municipality belonging to the district of Santarém: Beira Interior Sul, Cova da Beira, and Pinhal Interior Sul.
Região Centro (Central Region)
Beira Interior Sul
Castelo Branco (Capital)
Idanha-a-Nova
Penamacor
Vila Velha de Ródão
Cova da Beira
Belmonte
Covilhã
Fundão
Pinhal Interior Sul
Oleiros
Proença-a-Nova
Sertã
Vila de Rei
Cities:
Castelo Branco
Covilhã
Fundão
Villages:
Alcains (Castelo Branco)
Alpedrinha (Fundão)
Álvaro (Oleiros)
Atalaia do Campo (Fundão)
Belmonte
Bemposta (Penamacor)
Boidobra (Covilhã)
Caria (Belmonte)
Castelo Novo (Fundão)
Cernache do Bonjardim (Sertã)
Ferro (Covilhã)
Idanha-a-Nova
Idanha-a-Velha (Idanha-a-Nova)
Lardosa (Castelo Branco)
Medelim (Idanha-a-Nova)
Monsanto (Idanha-a-Nova)
Oleiros
Paul (Covilhã)
Pedrógão Pequeno (Sertã)
Penamacor
Penha Garcia (Idanha-a-Nova)
Proença-a-Nova
Proença-a-Velha (Idanha-a-Nova)
Rosmaninhal (Idanha-a-Nova)
Salvaterra do Extremo (Idanha-a-Nova)
São Miguel de Acha (Idanha-a-Nova)
São Vicente da Beira (Castelo Branco)
Sarzedas (Castelo Branco)
Sertã
Silvares (Fundão)
Soalheira (Fundão)
Sobreira Formosa (Proença-a-Nova)
Teixoso (Covilhã)
Tortosendo (Covilhã)
Unhais da Serra (Covilhã)
Vila de Rei
Vila do Carvalho (Covilhã)
Vila Velha de Ródão
Zebreira (Idanha-a-Nova)
Physical geography
The Castelo Branco district is dominated by three fundamental structures: the Tagus Valley region, to the south, is a vast region of moderate altitudes (between 200 and 400 m) and few orographic features. To the north, a second, much more rugged region stretches from northeast to southwest, comprising the Alvelos, Muradal, Gardunha (1,227 m), and Malcata mountains, which have their greatest extension in the district of Guarda. To the northwest of this area, Cova da Beira corresponds to the Zêzere River valley and some of its tributaries. The western region of the district also follows the Zêzere valley, descending to it from the heights of Alvelos. Most of the southeastern slope of Serra da Estrela still belongs to the district.
With the district fully integrated into the Tagus river basin, the main rivers are, in addition to the Tagus itself, tributaries of that river or tributaries of tributaries. The highlight goes to the Zêzere and its tributaries, especially the Paul River, the Meimoa River, and the Ribeira da Sertã. Other relevant rivers are the Ocreza River, the Ponsul River, and the Erges River, which serves as the border with Spain for more than 40 km. These rivers flow in more or less the same direction, from northeast to southwest, except the Erges, whose course is predominantly north to south.
As for orography, the highest altitudes are in Serra da Estrela, with the district border being very close to the maximum altitude of the Portuguese mainland (1,993 m). Also within the limits of the district are other high altitudes: the highest point of the Açor mountain range (1,418 m) is on the border with the district of Coimbra, and the second highest point of the Malcata mountain range (1,072 m) is located on the border with the Guarda district, very close to Spain. Even in the interior of the district, the highest points are the summits of Gardunha (1,227 m), Alvelos (1,084 m) and Muradal (912 m).
Although the Castelo de Bode dam itself is outside the limits of the Castelo Branco district, its reservoir ends up being the largest dammed area in the district, even though there are several other dams on the Zêzere (Bouçã dam and Cabril dam), on the Tagus ( Fratel dam on the Portuguese course and Embalse de Cedillo on the international Tagus) and on other rivers and streams (Corgas dam on the Isna river, Pisco dam on the Ramalhoso river, Meimoa dam on the Meimoa river, Idanha dam and Penha Garcia in Ponsul and Toulica dam on the Aravil river.
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