Portugal

Northern Portugal is rather mountainous, while the South consists more so of flatter plains. Portugal has no natural lakes. Being attached to Spain, and the rest of Europe, Portugal is known to have been home to a number of dinosaurs found elsewhere on the continent, such as Allosaurus and Stegosaurus.

Portugal (officially the Portuguese Republic) is a small country located on the most Western coast of mainland Europe. It is bordered by Spain on the North and East, and by the Atlantic Ocean to the South and West. Portugal is comprised of 16 districts and 2 autonomous regions (which are archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean).

Evidence of people living in Portugal can be traced back to 45,000 years ago, being probably nomadic in nature. Evidence of ancestors to humans living in the region can also be traced back to around 400,000 years ago.

With a long history of people, names, and invasions, Portugal first gained its name around the year 868. By 1255, the borders and capital of Portugal were established, and have remained the same since. Starting in the 15th century Portugal became a world power thanks to its navy, and conquered colonies around the world, most notably the country of Brazil. Over time Portugal lost its colonies as they gained their own independence, save for the two archipelagos of Madeira and The Azores.

Portugal Day, officially "Day of Portugal, Camões, and the Portuguese Communities", is celebrated on 10 June. It is held in memory of the death of Luís de Camões, a poet who wrote Portugal's national epic poem.

The flag of Portugal was adopted in 1911 by the party leading the country, with colours representative of the party. To make it less political, the colours were later said to represent the hope of the nation (green) and the blood of the people serving the nation (red). The yellow circular design is an armillary sphere, used by sailors for navigation. The shield in the centre of the flag has five small blue shields, each one representing an enemy king that was defeated by Portugal's first king (Alfonso III), with the five white dots on each a symbol for the five wounds of crucified Jesus, as the king attributes his victory to Jesus. The seven castles are said to represent the seven fortresses captured by Alfonso III during his battles.

Portugal's name comes from the Latin "Portus Cale" meaning "Port of Cale". Cale was a Celtic town with a port in what is now Northern Portugal. There is no consensus on where Cale gets its name, but could come from: the Celtic word for 'port'; Cala, a Celtic goddess; or Portus Gallus, meaning 'port of the Gauls or Celts'.