and little seasonal temperature variation, never having registered a freezing temperature (below ) or a temperature above since records started. This is due to the strong upwelling common in the central and southwest Portuguese coasts during the summer months. The city itself has warmer summers, averaging a maxima of in July and August, and slightly cooler winter nights, though very mild for European standards. Sines is remarkably sunny, averaging close to 3000 hours of yearly sunshine. Human geography Sines is limited on its southern frontier by Odemira Municipality, north and northeast by Santiago do Cacém Municipality, while the southern part of the municipality (south of São Torpes) is part of the Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina (). A small part of the north also belongs to the Reserva Natural da Lagoa de Santo André e da Sancha (). Sines is 150 kilometers south of Lisbon. Sines Municipality was constituted, until 1485, from the parishes of Sines, Colos and the area that today corresponds to the parish of Vila Nova do Milfontes. In 1485, King D. John II, with the objective of settling the area of coastal Alentejo, created the municipality of Vila Nova de Milfontes, and included the area of Cercal. Colos also became a municipality in 1499, restricting Sines to its present area. In 1855, along with other municipalities, Sines ceased to exist and became integrated into Santiago do Cacém as the parish of São Salvador. Although it lost its autonomy, the settlements flourished for a time; Sines regained its autonomy in 1914. Administratively, the municipality is divided into 2 civil parishes (freguesias): Porto Covo - the tourist-centered parish, along the southern frontier of Sines, settled by Jacinto Fernandes Bandeira, to motivate settlement at the end of the 18th century, has grown to include 1400 annual inhabitants; Sines - the main parish and town within the municipality, with a population of 15000. Not self-governing. Economy The economy of Sines municipality depends on energy, oil refining, port activity, fishing, tourism and trade. The municipality has an important investment park managed by AICEP Global Parques, and a science park, the Sines Tecnopolo. Sines is the location of one of the largest maritime-industrial complexes in Portugal, whose tenants include Sines Power Plant (Electricidade de Portugal), Petrogal Sines (National Petrochemic Refinery) and Repsol (Polymer Refinery). Although rapidly industrializing, the town still preserves many of the historical landmarks and tries to