Geography

Some data about the Algarve
With an area of 4,995Km2 and a resident population of 395,218 inhabitants, spread throughout 16 municipalities, the Algarve is located at Europe's westernmost tip, in the south of Portugal. It has an average population density of roughly 80 inhabitants per Km2 and an entirely Atlantic coastline that measures roughly 150Km in length.
It is subdivided into three main areas, each of which contains some extraordinarily beautiful landscapes:

- The coastal area is where most of the region's economic activity is concentrated.

- The "Barrocal" area marks the transition between the coast and the mountains, consisting of limestone and schist.

- The hills occupy 50% of the territory and are essentially formed from schist and some granitic rocks (in this latter case, in Monchique, where there is an outcrop of nepheline syenite). The main ranges of hills are the Serra de Espinhaço de Cão, Serra de Monchique (where Foia, the highest point in the Algarve is to be found, at an altitude of 900 metres) and the Serra do Caldeirão or the Serra do Mú.

source: VISITALGARVE