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Pontevedra, Spain (Province)

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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A maritime province of north-western Spain, formed in 1833 of districts taken from Galicia, and bounded on the N. by Corunna, E. by Lugo and Orense, S. by Portugal and W. by the Atlantic. Pop. (1900), 457,262; area, 1695 sq. m. Pontevedra is the smallest of the provinces of Spain except the three Basque Provinces; its density of population, 269.8 inhabitants per square mile, is only excelled in the provinces of Barcelona and Biscay (Vizcaya). Both of these are mining and manufacturing districts, while Pontevedra is dependent on agriculture and fisheries. The surface is everywhere mountainous, and consists almost entirely of arable land, pasture or forest. The coast-line is deeply indented; navigation is rendered difficult by the prevalence of fogs in summer and storms in winter. The river Mino (Portuguese Minho) forms the southern frontier, and is navigable by small ships as far as Salvatierra; and the province is watered by many smaller streams, all flowing, like the Mino, into the Atlantic. The largest of these are the Ulla, which separates Pontevedra from Corunna, the Umia and the Lerez. Pontevedra has a mild climate, a fertile soil and a very heavy rainfall. Large agricultural fairs are held in the chief towns, and there is a considerable export trade in cattle to Great Britain and Portugal, hams, salt meat and fish, eggs, breadstuffs, leather and wine. Vigo is the headquarters of shipping, and one of the chief ports of northern Spain. There are also good harbours at Bayona, Carril, Marin, Villagarcia and elsewhere among the deep estuaries of the coast. At Tuy the Spanish and Portuguese railways meet, and from this town one line goes up the Mino valley to Orense, and another northward along the coast to Santiago de Compostela.