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{{for|the civil parish|Alcoutim (parish)}}
{{Infobox Portuguese subdivision
| type            = municipality
| official_name   = Alcoutim
| image_flag      = Alcoutim municipality flag.png
| image_shield    = Alcoutim municipality coat of arms.png
| image_skyline   = Alcoutim - Portugal (47485159741).jpg
| image_caption   = 
|coordinates             = {{coord|37|28|N|7|28|W|type:adm1st_region:PT_dim:100000|display=inline,title}}
| image_map       = LocalAlcoutim.svg
|region             = [[Algarve]]
|CIM                = [[Algarve]]
|district           = [[Faro District|Faro]]
|parishes           = [[#Parishes|4]]
| leader_party            = [[Socialist Party (Portugal)|PS]]
| leader_name             = [[Osvaldo dos Santos Gonçalves|Osvaldo Gonçalves]]
| area_total_km2          = 575.36
| population_total        = 2,917
| population_as_of        = 2011
| holiday                 = Second Friday of September
| website                 = http://www.cm-alcoutim.pt
}}

'''Alcoutim''' ({{IPA|pt-PT|alkoˈtĩ|local|Pt-pt Alcoutim FF.ogg}}) is a town and a [[municipalities of Portugal|municipality]] in southeastern [[Portugal]] near the [[Portugal–Spain border]].<ref>Detail Regional Map, Algarve- Southern Portugal, {{ISBN|3-8297-6235-6}}</ref> The population in 2011 was 2,917,<ref>[http://www.ine.pt/xportal/xmain?xlang=en&xpid=INE&xpgid=ine_indicadores&indOcorrCod=0005889&contexto=pi&selTab=tab0 Instituto Nacional de Estatística]</ref> in an area of 575.36&nbsp;km².<ref name=dgt>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dgterritorio.pt/cartografia_e_geodesia/cartografia/carta_administrativa_oficial_de_portugal_caop_/caop__download_/carta_administrativa_oficial_de_portugal___versao_2017__em_vigor_/ |title=Áreas das freguesias, concelhos, distritos e país |access-date=2018-11-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105172426/http://www.dgterritorio.pt/cartografia_e_geodesia/cartografia/carta_administrativa_oficial_de_portugal_caop_/caop__download_/carta_administrativa_oficial_de_portugal___versao_2017__em_vigor_/ |archive-date=2018-11-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It is the [[population density|least densely populated]] municipality in Portugal. The municipality is limited on the north by [[Mértola Municipality]], on the east by [[Huelva Province]] in [[Spain]], on the southeast by [[Castro Marim Municipality]], on the southwest by [[Tavira Municipality]] and on the west by [[Loulé Municipality]] and [[Almodôvar Municipality]]. The administrative center is the town of Alcoutim, located at the extreme eastern part of the municipality on the Spanish frontier, just across the [[Guadiana River]] from the Spanish town of [[Sanlúcar de Guadiana]] in Huelva Province. The [[Moors|Moorish]] [[Alcoutim Castle]], located in the municipality, dates from the 14th century.<ref>{{cite web |title=Alcoutim Castle |url=http://www.castles.nl/eur/pt/al/al.html |publisher=castles.nl |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070816201725/http://www.castles.nl/eur/pt/al/al.html |accessdate=25 October 2020|archive-date=2007-08-16 }}</ref>

==Coat of arms==
[[File:Santarém - Igreja de Santa Maria da Graça - Túmulo de D. Pedro de Meneses.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Tomb of [[Pedro de Meneses, 1st Count of Vila Real|Pedro de Menezes]], in the [[Igreja da Graça (Santarém)|Igreja da Graça]] in [[Santarém, Portugal|Santarém]].]]
The coat of arms of Alcoutim - a wreath of ''zambujeiro'' (wild olive tree) and the slogan ''Aleo'' - is derived from the decorative motif of the tomb of [[Pedro de Menezes, 1st Count of Vila Real]], found in the [[Igreja da Graça (Santarém)|Igreja da Graça]] in [[Santarém, Portugal|Santarém]]. 'Aleu' or 'aleo' is an old Portuguese term for a 'gaming stick' (as used in [[hockey]] or [[shuffleboard]]). It refers to a famous episode concerning Pedro de Menezes from shortly after the [[Conquest of Ceuta]] on September 2, 1415 (commemorated on [[Ceuta Day]]). Pedro de Menezes was engaged in an outdoor game in the king's presence when a messenger arrived reporting an imminent Moroccan attack on Portuguese-held [[Ceuta]].  Menezes is said to have raised his gaming stick (''aleo'') and told the king that "with that stick alone" he could defend Ceuta from all the power of Morocco.<ref>"Eu só com este páu, sou capaz de defender Ceuta, de todo o poder dos mouros", as reported in ''Portugal antigo e moderno'', 1878, [https://books.google.com/books?id=z5kDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA495 p. 495].</ref> Pedro's descendants were later made [[Count of Alcoutim|Counts of Alcoutim]]. Similar design can be seen on the coat of arms of [[Vila Real]].

==Parishes==
Administratively, the municipality is divided into 4 civil parishes (''[[freguesia (Portugal)|freguesias]]''):<ref>{{cite web|title=Law nr. 11-A/2013, page 552 8|url=http://dre.pt/pdf1sdip/2013/01/01901/0000200147.pdf |accessdate=16 July 2014|author=Diário da República|author-link=Diário da República|language=Portuguese}}</ref>
* [[Alcoutim e Pereiro]]
* [[Giões]]
* [[Martim Longo]]
* [[Vaqueiros (Alcoutim)|Vaqueiros]]

==Climate==
Alcoutim has a [[Mediterranean climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]] ''Csa'') with very hot and dry summers and mild winters. Due to its location in the [[Guadiana River]] basin it has a climate that very much resembles that of relatively nearby [[Seville]] and [[Córdoba, Spain|Cordoba]]. With an average July high of around {{convert|35 to 36|C|F|0}} it is one of the hottest places in Portugal and Europe during the summer months.<ref>{{cite web |title=Average Weather in Alcoutim |url=https://weatherspark.com/y/32779/Average-Weather-in-Alcoutim-Portugal-Year-Round |publisher=Weatherspark.com |accessdate=25 October 2020}}</ref>

{{Weather box
|location = Alcoutim, 1985-2021, altitude: {{convert|32|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|metric first = yes
|single line = Yes
|width = auto

|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 57.4
|Feb precipitation mm = 41.8
|Mar precipitation mm = 36.5
|Apr precipitation mm = 52.0
|May precipitation mm = 36.5
|Jun precipitation mm = 11.3
|Jul precipitation mm = 0.9
|Aug precipitation mm = 4.0
|Sep precipitation mm = 23.5
|Oct precipitation mm = 68.9
|Nov precipitation mm = 68.9
|Dec precipitation mm = 90.9
|year precipitation mm =

|source 1 = Portuguese Environment Agency<ref>{{cite web |title=Alcoutim (29M/01UG) |url=https://snirh.apambiente.pt/index.php?idRef=MTM4Ng==&findestacao=29M/01UG |publisher=APA |access-date=23 October 2021}}</ref>
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage}}
*{{Commons category-inline}}
*[http://www.cm-alcoutim.pt/ Official website] (in Portuguese)

{{Municipality of Faro District (Algarve)}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Alcoutim| ]]
[[Category:Populated places in Faro District]]
[[Category:Municipalities of Faro District]]