There are so many types of rocks that I have no idea which kind are these ones. Anyway I suspect they were brought here when they built Carril Water Dam in the area of Tomar. There may be a quarry nearby but I’m not sure of that either. It would be easier to find that out if I lived in Tomar, but since I am in Australia, which is more than 16,000 kilometres away from Portugal, this type of information is hard to find from where I live.
Lots of rocks at Carril Water Dam in Tomar, may be sandstones, which is made of sand often consolidated with quartz
On the left side of the road you can see a great number of rocks at Carril Water Dam in Tomar
A different angle that shows the rocks at Carril Water Dam in Tomar, which makes the bank of this weir
My son was born in Australia in 1996 but he has now dual nationality which means that Portugal and especially Tomar has become a focus of interest to him. As a father I have mentioned so many things about Portugal and my home town, that he now feels curious about everything related to this historical town and its surrounding areas. Here he is at Carril Water Dam enjoying the views and environment of this agricultural area in Tomar.
My 15 year old son, admiring the views at Carril Water Dam, which was built in the countryside of Tomar, to irrigate olive plantations, fruit trees and vegetables in the lands of about 300 farmers
My son Nelson Fidalgo at Carril Water Dam near the City of Tomar, relishing the landscape which is quite beautiful. You can spend an entire afternoon in this area walking around, fishing, boating and swimming
My son with my wife and my sister in law at Carril Water Dam in Tomar. He has shown great interest in all things related to Portugal. After all his ancestors were Portuguese despite the fact that he was born in Australia
When we visited Carril Water Dam in the countryside of Tomar, we all walked around for a while on the roads that you can see in this set of photos. From here we intended to explore the rest of the area. After all walking in the countryside is good for the body. We had a nice lunch at home and needed to burn off a few calories. Not only that but apparently walks on the countryside sharpen your mind, due to some microbe found in the soil, which when blown by the wind and breathed in, increases your ability to comprehend things. So I reckon we all got smarter by visiting Carril Dam that day.
There is this a small bridge at Carril Dam in the region of Tomar, that leads to a road which in turn takes you to trails, thus allowing you to walk around the countryside of that specific area
In this photo, my wife, my sister in law and my son were heading to the end of this road to find a trail which would lead us into the rural areas around Carril Dam
This is the opposite side of the road. In the distance is the four wheel vehicle of my sister in law Amélia Moura, who drove us to Carril Water Dam near the City of Tomar
I don’t really understand much about irrigated agriculture, or for that matter any kind of agriculture, but I suppose these photos, shot at Carril Water Dam near the City of Tomar, show us the way water reaches the agricultural fields where it’s needed. I know that this dam was built to help farmers of this region, to irrigate olive plantations, vegetables and fruit trees and here are the conduits that can supply the water for the farmers to irrigate their crops.
On my left is the lake of Carril Water Dam, which isn't seen in this photo, and in the distance you can view the conduits built to supply water to the farmers of this region of Tomar
This region of Tomar where Carril Water Dam is located is very fertile. That's the main reason this weir and conduits were built. They are there to help irrigate the lands of about 300 farmers
Close up of one of the conduits at Carril Water Dam near Tomar which was empty, probably because it was summer or perhaps the water wasn't needed at the time
There is a bit of controversy in regard to the Carril Water Dam. Initially this dam was built to help the irrigated agriculture in that region of Tomar, but after a few years and despite the fact that 15 kilometers of agriculture hydrants were built to irrigate olive plantations, fruit trees and a wide variety of vegetables, the farmers around the area, to whom the dam was supposed to service, refused to pay the duties which they claim to be too high, and nowadays this dam has just been used for sports fishing, boating and swimming.
Carril dam was supposed to help farmers of this region of Tomar but has mainly been used for ludic activites like sports fishing, boating and swimming
This is the road at Carril Dam near the City of Tomar in Portugal. Some people come here to enjoy the scenery and other recreational activities
My wife, my son and my sister in law enjoying the views at Carril Dam (Barragem do Carril) which is in the parish of Junceira, about 5 kilometres from the City of Tomar
As I mentioned previously, in 2010 I visited Carril dam near Tomar with my family. When I left Portugal in 1989 this dam hadn’t been built yet and since the last time I had visited Portugal was in 1998, I hadn’t seen this body of water confined by a dam. Apparently and despite its objective which was to irrigate farmers’ lands living in the areas of Junceira, Santa Maria dos Olivais e São Pedro, very few are using it for that purpose because they have refused to pay duties which they say are too expensive. So this dam is now more like a recreational area where you can swim, fish and paddle a canoe or boat.
Beautiful view of the body of water at Carril Dam in the City of Tomar. You can spend a day here swimming, fishing, canoeing and boating
Another perspective of Carril Dam in the city of Tomar. This was my first visit to this area of Tomar as the dam was built in 2002 and the last time I had visited Portugal was in 1998
The areas around Carril Dam in Tomar are also fantastic for social walking, pic-nics and enjoy a day devoted to an outdoor gathering with your family and friends
I visited Carril Water Dam with my wife, son and my sister-in-law, who was the one who took us there as I didn’t have a car during my time spend in Tomar in the summer/autumn of 2010. Carril Dam is about 10 minutes from the City of Tomar and was inaugurated in February of 2002 by the then Portuguese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Luís Capoulas Santos who is now a Member of the European Parliament for the Portuguese Socialist Party. In the waters of the Dam of Carril, which was built to irrigate the lands of about 300 farmers, you can also have a swim, you can fish and ride a canoe. Anyway I spent part of an afternoon there and took lots of photos which in time I will gradually post in this photoblog.
Nice view of Carril Dam, 10 minutes from the City of Tomar, built in 2002 to benefit about 300 farmers of the region
In the waters of Carril Dam in Tomar, Portugal, you can also swimm, fish and ride a boat or a canoe
I wish I could walk this walkway at Carril Dam near Tomar, but there was a fence and a sign which prevented me to do that