Huelva is the provincial capital, industrial area and port, east of which are a number of locations associated with the voyages of Christopher Columbus to the New World, including the monastery of La Rabida and the villages of Palos and Moguer. To the east is one of the three top wetlands in Europe, the Coto Donana and to the west bird watchers flock to the Odiel Marshes. With the coastal pinewoods, tidal creeks and dunes to the west of El Rompido there is a variety of habitats in an area of 2,500ha known as the Marismas del Rio Piedras.
El Portil itself has a small freshwater lagoon, La Laguna de El Portil; this 15ha lake is now a protected area for breeding birds.