Ria Formosa

The Ria Formosa lagoon runs along the Algarve coast in southern Portugal, a system of barrier islands connected to the sea through six inlets, five natural and mobile, the sixth cut artificially to give easier access to the port of Faro. In 2010 it was voted one of the seven natural wonders of Portugal, from 656,356 votes cast. It is shallow, tidal and enormously productive: salt pans, shellfish beds and mudflats that carry flamingos and spoonbills, best seen from a small boat at low water.