Douro Litoral Province in the context of "Ave Subregion"

The term "provinces" (Portuguese: províncias) has been used throughout history to identify regions of continental Portugal. Current legal subdivisions of Portugal do not coincide with the provinces, but several provinces, in their 19th- and 20th-century versions, still correspond to culturally relevant, strongly self-identifying categories. They include:

• Alentejo (Alto Alentejo, Baixo Alentejo)
• Algarve
• Beira (Beira Alta, Beira Baixa, Beira Litoral)
• Douro Litoral
• Estremadura
• Minho
• Ribatejo
• Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro

The islands of Azores and Madeira were never called "provinces".

Beira Litoral is a historical (or natural region) province (província) of Portugal, formally instituted in an administrative reform of 1936. It was abolished with the 1976 Constitution of Portugal.

The province was bordered on the north by Douro Litoral Province, on the east by Beira Alta Province and Beira Baixa Province, on the southeast by Ribatejo Province, on the southwest by Estremadura Province and on the West by the Atlantic Ocean.