Sayago

Sayago
Comarca
Location in the province of Zamora.
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Castile and León
Province	Zamora
Capital	Bermillo de Sayago
Municipalities	List Alfaraz de Sayago, Almeida de Sayago, Argañín, Bermillo de Sayago, Cabañas de Sayago, Carbellino, Fariza, Fermoselle, Fresno de Sayago, Gamones, Luelmo, Mayalde, Moral de Sayago, Moraleja de Sayago, Moralina, Muga de Sayago, Peñausende, Pereruela, Roelos de Sayago, Salce, Torregamones, Villadepera, Villar del Buey, Villardiegua de la Ribera
Area
• Total	1,484.6 km2 (573.2 sq mi)
Population
• Total	9,677
• Density	6.5/km2 (17/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Sayaguese
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)

Sayago is a comarca (county, but with no administrative role) in the province of Zamora, central Spain.

The comarca is located at the southwest of the Zamora province. The main geographical characteristic is the isolation caused by the Duero and Tormes rivers canyons. Its borders are, consequently, well defined, specially to the north (Duero canyon separates Sayago from Aliste comarca), to the west (Duero canyon separates Sayago from Portugal) and to the south (Tormes canyon and Almendra Dam separate Sayago from the province of Salamanca). East is the less marked border, which makes communications easy with Tierra del Pan and Zamora, the capital city of the province.

Duero canyons are especially deep in the stretch shared with Portugal, as the erosion found better conditions to act than in previous zones. That has been the cause for the relatively low relations between the comarca and Portugal. The canyons have been used to build some reservoirs along the river in its journey through the comarca: San Román Dam, Villalcampo Dam, Castro Dam, Miranda Dam, Picota Dam and Bemposta Dam (the last three owned by Portugal), apart from the mentioned Almendra Dam. They all are for electricity production, making Sayago one of the most important hydroelectric areas in the whole country.

It's not only the canyons which define the landscape of Sayago. The highlands, where towns are located, form an extense peneplain with successions of hills and valleys caused by streams that join the Duero and Tormes rivers. Geologically, the most common terrain is composed by low-quality ground and many granite outcrops, with few areas of fertile floor around the streams.

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Wikipedia