Accommodation capacity

maximum number of individuals that tourist accommodations can lodge at a given time or period, which is determined by the number of beds available. The calculation formula is "capacity of accommodation in the hotel establishments / resident population * 100" and the unit of measure is per mill (‰).

Accommodation variation rate

relationship between the percentage growth of family accommodation by place of residence between two distinct periods in time, which can be positive or negative. The rate is determined by “total accommodations year 1 - total accommodations year 0 * 100” and is expressed in percentages (%).

Active population

percentage of the population with the minimum age of 15, employed and unemployed, who constitute the manpower supply of the labour market despite their current labour status.

Activity rate

rate that defines the relation between the active population (labour force) and the total population. Its calculation formula is “active population / resident population * 100” and the unit of measurement is percentage (%).

Activity sector

each of the three economic activity aggregates: primary sector (CAE rev.1 - 1 to 2), secondary sector (CAE rev.1 - 3 to 5) and tertiary sector (CAE rev.1 - 6 to 9).

Aeolian energy

kinetic energy of the wind. It can be used to produce electricity through turbines (aerogenerators).

Age group

the age interval in years to which a person belongs at the time of reference.

Age pyramid

graphical representation of the population structure by sex and age.

Ageing ratio

the ratio between the number of generally economically inactive elderly persons (aged over 65) and the number of persons of working age (aged 15 to 64).


Alpine cordillera

chain of mountains that, in Europe, began to form at the end of the Cretaceous (65 Ma) as a result of the collision between Europe (Euro-Asian plate) and Africa (African plate). The Alps mountain range is part of this chain.

Alpine orogeny

long process of mountain chain formation, of which the Alps mountain range (Alpine Cordillera) is part. Its formation started at the beginning of the Cenozoic Era, about 65 Ma, because of the collision between Europe (Euro-Asian plate) and Africa (African plate).


fossil of a cephalopod mollusc with a spiral-shaped shell; it appeared in the Devonian period (416359 Ma) and became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period (145-65 Ma).


generic name of a group of minerals consisting of silicates and various metallic elements (Ca2+, Mg2+, Fe2+, Al3+, Na+, among others). It has dark colours, predominantly green and blue, and it is present in magmatic and metamorphic rocks.

Arable land

land cultivated for plant production, fallow land, or land kept in good agricultural and environmental condition; land occupied by greenhouses or covered by fixed or mobile structures


ancient bird that marks the evolution of dinosaurs into birds in the Upper Jurassic. It had teeth, bones in the tail, like a small dinosaur, and three fingers on the wings that would serve to grasp tree branches. It did not fly. It was approximately 30 cm long, had a 50 cm wingspan, weighed about 500 g and was carnivorous.

Arctic Ocean

with 4% of oceanic waters, this is the smallest of the earth’s oceans and has an average depth of 990 m and a maximum of 4 600 m. It is located around the North Pole, with an area of 14 million km2 and is covered by an ice cap.


any object manipulated by man that permits to reconstruct activities and modes of life in the past.



invertebrate animals with jointed appendages. Largest group of existent animals. For example, insects, spiders, crabs, and centipedes, all belong to this group.


inner layer of the earth, below the lithosphere, whose lower limit is more than 200 km deep. Due to heat, it behaves as a plastic mass, with movement, carrying the lithospheric plates like a conveyor belt.

Atlantic Ocean

located between Europe, Africa and the Americas, holds 25% of oceanic waters, covers an area of about 82 million km2 and has an average depth of 3339 m.


earliest phase of the Upper Palaeolithic, generally associated to the occupation of the European continent by anatomically modern man - Homo sapiens, covering the period from approximately 38,000 to 28,500 years before the present. However, the dates obtained in Portugal are under 31.000 years, and show that Middle to Upper Palaeolithic Transition is probably more recent in southern Iberia than in the regions at the North of the Pyrenees, and occurs during a recent phase of the  Aurignacian.



Ancestor of the ox, of great size, that occupied a vast European and Asian territory. It is extinct since the seventeenth century. Though its remains are rare in Upper Palaeolithic faunal remains series, it is widely represented in engravings and cave paintings found at various locations in Europe, including Foz Côa.



type of extinct hominid that appeared some 5 million years ago during the Pliocene (5-2.5/1.8 Ma). It was omnivore, approximately 1 m high, weighing between 30 to 40 kg.

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