Costa da Caparica (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈkɔʃtɐ ðɐ kɐpɐˈɾikɐ]) is a Portuguese civil parish, located in the municipality of Almada along the western coast of the district of Setúbal. The total population in 2011 was 13,418,[1] in an area of 10.18 km2.[2] Since 9 December 2004,[3] the Costa da Caparica has been designated as city within the urban hierarchy of Portugal.
Physical geography
Situated on the occidental coast of the Peninsula of Setúbal, the territory is the result of ocean receding, covering an area of 10.18 km2 between the water and main escarpment. The space is one large beach resulting from progressive decline from the east to the sea. Its coastal extent represents the largest contiguous beach in Portugal, with an expanse of approximately 30 kilometres, from the left margin of the Tagus River to the estuary of Albufeira.[4] Popular in the summer with tourists and local visitors, the beaches have suffered from erosion in recent years; several levels of Portuguese government have taken steps to reduce these patterns, but the erosion has continued at several of the beaches located closest to the mouth of the Tagus.