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Spain 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. The Balearic Islands,
encompassing a total area of 5,000 square kilometers, lie
80
kilometers off Spain's central eastern coast. The
mountains that
rise up above the Mediterranean Sea to form these islands
are an
extension of the Sistema Penibetico. The archipelago's
highest
points, which reach 1,400 meters, are in northwestern
Majorca,
close to the coast. The central portion of Majorca is a
plain,
bounded on the east and the southeast by broken hills.
The Canary Islands, ninety kilometers off the west
coast of
Africa, are of volcanic origin. The large central islands,
Gran
Canaria and Tenerife, have the highest peaks; on Gran
Canaria
they rise to 1,950 meters and on Tenerife, to 3,700
meters.
Data as of December 1988
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