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Spain: Geography
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Location:
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Southwestern Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay, Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, and Pyrenees Mountains, southwest of France
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Geographic coordinates:
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40 00 N, 4 00 W
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Map references:
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Europe
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Area:
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total: 504,782 sq km
water: 5,240 sq km
note: there are 19 autonomous communities including Balearic Islands and Canary Islands, and three small Spanish possessions off the coast of Morocco - Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera
land: 499,542 sq km
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Area - comparative:
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slightly more than twice the size of Oregon
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Land boundaries:
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total: 1,917.8 km
border countries: Andorra 63.7 km, France 623 km, Gibraltar 1.2 km, Portugal 1,214 km, Morocco (Ceuta) 6.3 km, Morocco (Melilla) 9.6 km
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Coastline:
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4,964 km
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Maritime claims:
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contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM (applies only to the Atlantic Ocean)
territorial sea: 12 NM
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Climate:
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temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast
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Terrain:
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large, flat to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills; Pyrenees in north
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico de Teide (Tenerife) on Canary Islands 3,718 m
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Natural resources:
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coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land
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Land use:
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arable land: 28.6%
permanent crops: 9.56%
other: 61.84% (1998 est.)
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Irrigated land:
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36,400 sq km (1998 est.)
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Natural hazards:
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periodic droughts
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Environment - current issues:
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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
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification
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Geography - note:
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strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar
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