CARRAZEDA DE ANSIÃES
N 41º 14' 33''; W 7º 18' 23''
The municipality of Carrazeda de Ansiães is situated on the right margin of the Douro River, and the left margin of its tributary, the Tua River. On the Douro it is fronted by the municipality of Torre de Moncorvo (at Cadima), dividing the parish of Vilarinho da Castanheira from the neighboring parish of Lousa (in Torre de Moncorvo). The confluence of the Tua and Douro Rivers angle to the south in the settlement of Foz Tua, its rich waters separating Carrazeda de Ansiães from the municipalities of Alijó, Murça, and Mirandela, in addition to São João da Pesqueira. Territorially, its limits are defined in the north, by Murça and Mirandela; to the northeast, by Vila Flor; south by the River Douro; east by Torre de Moncorvo; and west by the Tua River. Carrazeda de Ansiães pertains to the old district of Bragança (its municipal seat located to the extreme south), and is buttressed by the districts of Vila Real in the west and Viseu in the south, across the Douro, but within the region of the Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro.
Carrazeda de Ansiães has a lot of its territory integrated within the Alto Douro, characterized by boxed-in valleys along the Douro and Tua Rivers, with steep inclines known for its wine-producing vineyards characteristic of Porto. The lands are covered in olive, almonds, and fig orchards, in addition to peaches, wheat, pears, lands for the raising of dairy- and beef cattle, sheep, and honey production.
The plateau zone of Carrazeda is the primary location of cereal production, the cultivation of potato, beans, corn, apple, and chestnuts (which predominate), in addition to open-spaces interspersed by natural forests of pine, oak, cork oak, and chestnut trees.
Climate
Carrazeda de Ansiães has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate characterized by cool winters and warm to hot summers with cool nights due to its altitude. As with other municipalities near the Douro Valley, altitude plays a role in temperature. Places closer to the valley at lower altitudes generally have higher temperatures (averaging around 16 °C (61 °F)), and hot to very hot summers, while places higher in altitude (e.g. 800 m (2,600 ft)) tend to have lower average temperatures, generally around 11 °C (52 °F).
