Spain GEOGRAPHY
Figure 5. Topography and Drainage
Courtesy
View of Montefrío, Granada Province
Courtesy National Tourist Office of Spain
Panoramic view of Jaén
Courtesy National Tourist Office of Spain
Spanish territory comprises nearly five-sixths of the
Iberian
Peninsula, which the nation shares with Portugal, the
micro-state
of Andorra, and the British possession of Gibraltar.
Spanish
territory also includes two sets of islands--the Balearic
Islands
(Spanish, Islas Baleares) in the Mediterranean Sea and the
Canary
Islands (Spanish, Canarias) in the Atlantic Ocean--and two
city
enclaves in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla
(see
fig. 1).
Peninsular Spain, covering an area of 492,503 square
kilometers,
consists of a central plateau known as the Meseta Central,
which
is enclosed by high mountains on its north, south, east,
and part
of its western sides. The area that is predominantly
plateau also
encompasses several mountain systems that are lower than
the
peripheral mountains. Although Spain thus has physical
characteristics that make it, to some extent, a natural
geographic unit, there are also internal geographic
features that
tend to compartmentalize the country.
The topographical characteristics also generate a
variety of
climatic regimes throughout the country. By far the
greatest part
of the country, however, experiences a continental climate
of
hot, dry summers and rather harsh, cold winters. Where
these
conditions prevail, the soils have eroded, vegetation is
sparse,
and agriculture is difficult. Irrigation is practiced
where
possible, but it is difficult because the flow in most
streams is
seasonally irregular, and the stream beds of larger rivers
are
frequently much lower than the adjacent terrain.
Data as of December 1988
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