The lush landscape of the north is rich viticultural country but also features corn, potato and rye. The central and southern regions are less green, yet they support corn oaks, olive groves, vineyards, and orange and fig trees, and are a delight in spring when the almond blossoms are in full bloom. Portugal's climate is temperate because of its geographical location. Being on the west coast of the Iberian peninsular it is affected by the land mass while at the same time being a coastal country, the weather is also influenced by the sea. The country is generally warm from April to October, though somewhat less so in the north, while the southern region of Algarve can experience uncomfortably hot temperatures in midsummer.
Winters are mild in Portugal being south of most of the other Mediterranean countries.
Portuguese is a Latin language which is evident from the written word but when spoken is entirely different from other western European languages. A surprise to many, is that Portuguese is the fifth most commonly spoken language in the world. This is mainly due to the large Portuguese speaking population of Brazil, with the addition of Angola and Mozambique in Africa and East Timor in the Far East. Low-grade coal, copper pyrites, iron ore, tungsten, and other minerals are mined. Most of the mines are in the northern mountains and in Beira.