Sudoeste

Sudoeste is the Portuguese and Spanish term for the cardinal direction southwest. It describes the portion of a place that lies to the southwest of a reference point and is used in geography, cartography, and regional naming. The word is formed from the words for south and west in each language (Portuguese sul/sur, oeste; Spanish sur/oeste), reflecting its Latin roots.

In Portugal, Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina is a designated subregion that stretches along the country’s southwest coast, spanning parts of the Alentejo and the Algarve. The area includes coastal cliffs and beaches and contains the Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina. It functions as an administrative and tourism-oriented geographic unit, illustrating the term’s use in official nomenclature.

More broadly,sudoeste is used to label southwestern sectors of larger regions in Iberian and Lusophone contexts, including geographic regions, administrative divisions, or travel and cultural references. The term thus serves as a concise, neutral descriptor of location and orientation.