SÃO MARCOS DA SERRA
37º 21' 44´´ N; 8º 22´44´´ W
Rural tourism-focused facilities and events have been developed in São Marcos da Serra since the 2010s in order to take advantage of the newly-built Odelouca Dam with a catchment area of 393 km² and the area's pristine, sparsely-populated natural landscape nested between two mountain ranges of the inland of western Algarve.
The parish seat of São Marcos is 27.2 kilometers (16.9 mi) north-northeast of the center of Silves, the seat of its municipality, 16 kilometers north of São Bartolomeu de Messines and is 250 kilometers (160 mi) south-southeast of Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal. Located between the junction between the Serra do Caldeirão and the Serra de Monchique mountain ridges, the parish is intersected by the Ribeira de Odelouca, which bisects the main village, also known as the Ribeira de São Marcos. The Odelouca receives water from two tributary streams: the Ribeira de Azilheire and Ribeira de Besteiros. In a typical mountain community, the buildings are spread over the slopes of the mountain valleys, resulting in steep roadways. At the highest point of the village is the parish church, located in the main square, whose western extent is also used as a market.
The village proper stands between 110 to 130 meters above mean sea level and is about 37 kilometers from the coast by road.
São Marcos da Serra is a main supplier of cork, as well as a producer of grain cereals, including wheat, barley, and oats, at one time supported by several traditional windmills that dotted the civil parish landscape. Beekeeping is common in the hills surrounding the village, resulting in an itinerant economy in wax and honey collected from local beehives. While a subsistence supply of fruits and vegetables continues to be produced in the area, the cultivation of peaches (rare for this area) has been discontinued.
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