España¹

How is the land laid out?

Spain consists of most of the Iberian Peninsula, the Balearic Islands east of the peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea, two enclaves ('presidios') on the Moroccan coast of North Africa, and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean west of al-Maghreb.²

The Iberian Peninsula of Europe consists of a plateau (the Meseta) with generally west-east ranges and tectonic river valleys.

South of the Cantabrica is the upper course of the Duero.

An exception to the west-east rule of Iberian physiography is the Berico System of Mountains, which separates the Ebro from the other river valleys, and continues southeast.

The Central System constituted, within Spain, of the Gredo and Guadarrama Mountains, separates the upper Duero from the upper Tajo.³ This valley is separated from the upper Guadiana's by lower ranges like the Toledo.

The Guadiana valley is separated from the Guadalquivir's by the Morena Mountains. South of them are the Andalucian (or Baetic or Penibetica) Mountains, which reach their highest near the southeast coast in the Sierra Nevada.⁴

Besides the rivers already mentioned, there are the Miño in the northwest and the Segura and the Jucar⁵ in the east.

The notable lakes are reservoirs: the Alcantara on the Tajo is the largest.

East of the peninsula are the Baleares⁶ Islands; Mallorca⁷ is the largest.

The Canarias⁸ Islands consists of ten islands, seven inhabited, all volcanic.

Who lives there?

More than seven in ten speak Spanish. Another more than three in 20 speak the language known as Catalan or Valencian or Balear, depending on where it is spoken. More than one in 20 speak Galician. All of these are Ibero-Romance languages.

More than 19 in 20 are Roman Catholic Christians.

For a list of cities see Spanish cities.

Within the area

Andalucia, Aragón, Asturias, Baleares, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla-León, Cataluña (Catalonia), Estremadura, Galicia, Madrid Community and Province, Murcia, Navarra, Euskadi (Pais Vasco), la Rioja and Valencia

Canarias (Canary Islands)

Presidios

Footnotes

1. Spain in English.
2. Morocco in English and Maroc in French.
3. Tagus in English.
4. Translates from Spanish as Snowy Mountains.
5. Xuquer in Catalan-Valencian-Balear.
6. Balearic in English.
7. Majorca in Castillian Spanish.
8. Canary in English.