Nascentes do Lena

Lena River, about 24 kilometres long, is a tributary of Lis River. In its course, which sometimes hides in the mountains and others appears in the town, we see it cross the Green Park of Porto de Mós and head towards Leiria to finally flow into the Lis. These rivers and the meeting of their waters were depicted in a poem in the book Lis e Lena, written in 1911 by the Portuguese-Brazilian poet and teacher José Marques da Cruz (1888-1958). There are several springs that add to its flow, but only one of them is perennial: the Olho de Água da Ribeira de Cima spring. Located to the east of Candeeiros Mountain Range, on the northern border of Santo António Plateau, its feeder area comes from the aforementioned plateau and Chão das Pias karst depression. Other seasonal springs that feed Lena river include Cabeço de Pedra, Tapada das Freiras and Moinhola do Maneta. The latter has been proven to receive water from Algar da Arroteia (Arroteia Pothole), also known as Algar das Gralhas (Gralhas Pothole), since it is one of the shelters used by the endangered Red-billed Choughs (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax).