Geography of Spain
Lago de Sanabria | |
Exclusive economic zone | 1,039,233 km2 (401,250 sq mi) |
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The Spanish mainland is bordered to the south and east almost entirely by the Mediterranean Sea (except for the small British territory of Gibraltar); to the north by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal. With a land area of 504,782 square kilometres (194,897 sq mi) in the Iberian peninsula,[1] Spain is the largest country in Southern Europe, the second largest country in Western Europe (behind France), and the fourth largest country in the European continent (behind Russia, Ukraine, and France). It has an average altitude of 650 m.
Its total area including Spanish island territories is 505,370 km2 (195,124 sq mi) of which 499,542 km2 (192,874 sq mi) is land and 5,240 km2 (2,023 sq mi) is water.
Borders
Most of Spain's boundaries are water: the Mediterranean Sea along the east from the French border down to
Spain also shares land boundaries with France and Andorra along the Pyrenees in the northeast, with Portugal on the west, with the small British colonial Territory of Gibraltar near the southernmost tip,[3] and with Morocco in its autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, and certain other small but uninhabited enclaves, mostly capes and small isles.[citation needed] The affiliation of Gibraltar has continued to be a contentious issue between Spain and Britain,[3] and the sovereignty of Spain's enclaves, or plazas de soberanía, on the Mediterranean coast of Morocco is disputed by Madrid.[citation needed]
Spain also has a small
Regions
Peninsular region
Most of Spain's peninsular region consists of the
The Inner Plateau and associated mountains
The Meseta Central ("Inner Plateau") is a vast plateau in the heart of peninsular Spain, which has elevations that range from 610 to 760 m.[3] Rimmed by mountains, the Meseta Central slopes gently to the west and to the series of rivers that form some of the border with Portugal.[3] The Sistema Central, described as the "dorsal spine" of the Meseta Central, divides the Meseta into northern and southern subregions, the former higher in elevation and smaller in area than the latter.[3] The Sistema Central rims the capital city of Madrid with peaks that rise to over 2,400 m within the Madrid region.[3] South-west of Madrid, the Sistema Central shows its highest peak, Pico Almanzor, of almost 2,600 m.[3] The mountains of the Sistema Central, which continue westward into Portugal, display some glacial features; the highest of the peaks are snow-capped for most of the year.[3] Despite their height, however, the mountain system does not create a major barrier between the northern and the southern portions of the Meseta Central because several passes permit road and railroad transportation to the northwest and the northeast.[3]
The southern portion of the Meseta (
The mountain regions that rim the Meseta Central and are associated with it are the Sierra Morena, the Cordillera Cantábrica, and the Sistema Ibérico.[3] Forming the southern edge of the Meseta Central, the Sierra Morena merges in the east with the southern extension of the Sistema Iberico and reaches westward along the northern edge of the Rio Guadalquivir valley to join the mountains in southern Portugal.[3] The massif of the Sierra Morena extends northward to the Río Guadiana, which separates it from the Sistema Central.[3] Despite their relatively low elevations, seldom surpassing 1,300 m, the mountains of the Sierra Morena are rugged at their southern edge.[3]
The Cordillera Cantábrica, a limestone formation, runs parallel to, and close to, the northern coast near the Bay of Biscay.
The Sistema Ibérico extends from the Cordillera Cantábrica southeastward and, close to the Mediterranean, spreads out from the Río Ebro to the Río Júcar.[3] The barren, rugged slopes of this mountain range cover an area of close to 21,000 square kilometers.[3] The mountains exceed 2,000 m in their northern region and reach a maximum height of over 2,300 m east of the headwaters of the Rio Duero.[3] The extremely steep mountain slopes in this range are often cut by deep, narrow gorges.[3]
Lowland regions
The major lowland regions are the Andalusian Plain in the southwest, the Ebro Basin in the northeast, and the coastal plains.[3] The Andalusian Plain is essentially a wide river valley through which the Río Guadalquivir flows.[3] The river broadens out along its course, reaching its widest point at the Golfo de Cadiz.[3] The Andalusian Plain is bounded on the north by the Sierra Morena and on the south by the Sistema Penibético; it narrows to an apex in the east where these two mountain chains meet.[3] The Ebro Basin is formed by the Río Ebro valley, contained by mountains on three sides—the Sistema Ibérico to the south and west, the Pyrenees to the north and east, and their coastal extensions paralleling the shore to the east.[3] Minor low-lying river valleys close to the Portuguese border are located on the Tagus and the Río Guadiana.[3]
The Coastal Plains regions are narrow strips between the coastal mountains and the seas.[3] They are broadest along the Golfo de Cádiz, where the coastal plain adjoins the Andalusian Plain, and along the southern and central eastern coasts.[3] The narrowest coastal plain runs along the Bay of Biscay, where the Cordillera Cantábrica ends close to shore.[3]
The islands
The remaining regions of Spain are the Balearic and the Canary Islands, the former located in the Mediterranean Sea and the latter in the Atlantic Ocean.[3] The Balearic Islands, encompassing a total area of 5,000 square kilometers, lie 80 kilometers off Spain's central eastern coast.[3] The mountains that rise up above the Mediterranean Sea to form these islands are an extension of the Sistema Penibetico.[3] The archipelago's highest points, which reach 1,400 meters, are in northwestern Mallorca, close to the coast.[3] The central portion of Mallorca is a plain, bounded on the east and the southeast by broken hills.[3]
The Canary Islands, ninety kilometers off the west coast of
Drainage, floods, and water stress
Of the roughly 1,800 rivers and streams in Spain, only the
The major rivers flowing westward throughout the Meseta Central include the
El Atazar Dam is a major dam built near Madrid to provide a water supply.
Floods and erosion
Certain Spanish regions can be considered vulnerable to both
- 15 October 1879, in Murcia, Santa Teresa flood.
- 13–15 October 1957, in Valencia, torrential rain results in a devastating flood, at least 81 people lost their lives.[7]
- In 1982, the river
Water stress
Climate
Peninsular Spain experiences three principal climatic types: semi-arid, maritime, and Mediterranean.[9]
The locally generated semi-arid climate covers the majority of peninsular Spain, influencing the Meseta Central, the adjoining mountains to the east and the south, and the Ebro Basin.[9] This climate is characterized by wide diurnal and seasonal variations in temperature and by low, irregular rainfall with high rates of evaporation that leave the land arid.[9] Annual rainfall generally is 30 to 64 centimetres (12 to 25 in); most of the Meseta region receives about 50 centimetres (20 in).[9] The northern Meseta, the Sistema Central, and the Ebro Basin have two rainy seasons, one in spring (April–June) and the other in autumn (October–November), with late spring being the wettest time of the year.[9] In the southern Meseta, also, the wet seasons are spring and autumn, but the spring one is earlier (March), and autumn is the wetter season.[9] Even during the wet seasons, rain is irregular and unreliable.[9] Winters in these regions are cold, with strong winds and high humidity, despite the low precipitation.[9] Except for mountain areas, the northern foothills of the Sistema Iberico are the coldest area, and frost is common.[9] Summers are hot and cloudless, producing average daytime temperatures that reach the mid- or upper 30s °C (low 90s to low 100s °F) in the northern Meseta and the upper 30s °C (upper 90s to low 100s °F) in the southern Meseta; nighttime temperatures, however, drop to the upper teens °C (low to mid 60s °F).[9] The Ebro Basin, at a lower altitude, is extremely hot during the summer, and temperatures can exceed 43 °C (109 °F).[9] Summer humidities are low in the Meseta Central and in the Ebro Basin, except right along the shores of in the Rio Ebro, where humidity is high.[9]
A maritime climate prevails in the northern part of the country, from the Pyrenees to the northwest region, characterized by relatively mild winters, warm but not hot summers, and generally abundant rainfall spread out over the year.[9] Temperatures vary only slightly, both on a diurnal and a seasonal basis.[9] The moderating effects of the sea, however, abate in the inland areas, where temperatures are 9 to 18 °C (48 to 64 °F) more extreme than temperatures on the coast.[9] Distance from the Atlantic Ocean also affects precipitation, and there is less rainfall in the east than in the west.[9] Autumn (October through December) is the wettest season, while July is the driest month.[9] The high humidity and the prevailing off-shore winds make fog and mist common along the northwest coast; this phenomenon is less frequent a short distance inland, however, because the mountains form a barrier keeping out the sea moisture.[9]
The Mediterranean climatic region extends from the Andalusian Plain along the southern and eastern coasts up to the Pyrenees, on the seaward side of the mountain ranges that parallel the coast.
Cities and population geography
The most populous cities in Spain are Madrid (3.3 million), Barcelona (1.6 million), Valencia (790,000), and Seville (690,000; all data as of 2019).[10]
Resources and land use
Natural resources:
, arable landLand use:
- Arable land: 27.18%
- Permanent crops: 9.85%
- Other: 62.97% (2005)
Irrigated land: 38,000 km2 (2003)
Total renewable water resources: 111.1 cubic metres (2005)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
- total: 37.22 cu km/yr (13%/19%/68%)
- per capita: 864 cu m/yr (2002)
Environmental concerns
Natural hazards: periodic droughts, occasional flooding
Environment – Current Issues:
- Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea from raw sewage and effluents from the offshore production of oil and gas; water quality and quantity nationwide; air pollution; deforestation; desertification
Environment – International Agreements:
- Party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
- Signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants
- Party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-
Maritime claims
- Contiguous zone: 24 nmi(44.4 km; 27.6 mi)
- Exclusive economic zone: 1,039,233 km2 (401,250 sq mi) with 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi) (applies only to the Atlantic Ocean)
- Territorial sea: 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi)
See also
- Autonomous communities of Spain
- Comarcas of Spain
- List of extreme points of Spain
- Provinces of Spain
- Topographical relief of Spain
References
Citations
- ISBN 978-1-85743-152-0.
- ^ "Spain". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
- ^ .
- ^ "La Macaronesia. Consideraciones geológicas, biogeográficas y paleoecológicas" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
- ^ "Livia". Britannica. June 23, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
- ^ a b "Publications-list" (PDF).
- ^ Hasta aquí llegó la riada, ABC, 13 August 2007
- ^ Diluvio en el País Valenciano, La Vanguardia, 21 October 1982, p1
- ^ .
- INE.
Sources
- This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook. CIA.