The East Coast of Algarve: a Barrier Island Dominated Coast

The east coast of the Algarve (Olhos de Água – Guadiana) is a low sandy coast with a high diversity of environments, including a cliffed coast, sandy beaches, dune ridges, an estuary, artificial/antrophic sectors and a main, complex, central morphology: the Ria Formosa barrier islands and coastal lagoon system. The large majority of this coastal sector is within the Ria Formosa Natural Park and therefore protected by Nature conservation laws. Nevertheless, human activities contributed to some of the most important changes on coastal behaviour during the last decades, increasing processes complexity and incrementing furthermore the difficulties for the already demanding understanding of coastal evolution.