The Geography of Spain Content 1 Spains surrounding

The Geography of Spain Content: 1. Spain’s surrounding (north, east, south, west) 2. Autonomous communities and its capitals 3. Meseta Central 4. Many mountain ranges 5. Rivers (Source, Mouth and Main tributaries)

1. Spain’s surrounding The countries: • In the north: France and Andorra • In the South: Morocco and Gibraltar • In the West: Portugal The seas: • In the north: Mar Cantábrico • In the east and south: Mediterranean Sea • In the south and west: Atlantic Ocean

2. The autonomous communities and their capitals

3. The different seas that surround Spain

4. The Meseta Central • Meseta Central, great plateau of the Iberian Penisnsula. With Madrid at its centre, it extends over 210, 000 square km and has an average elevation of 660 metres. • It is the oldest and most complex geologic formation of the peninsula. • Its western slope is gently inclined toward the Atlantic Ocean and forms the basins of the Duero, Tajo, and Guadiana rivers. • To the north the plateau rises abruptly into the Cantabrian Mountains, and to the east it becomes a series of ranges

What other mountain ranges are there? On the meseta: • Sistema central: splits the meseta into north and south • Montes de Toledo: southern part of mesta Around the mesta: • Cordillera Cantabrica: in the north contains Picos de Europa • Montes de Leon: under the Codillera Cantabrica • Sistema Iberico: eastern edge of meseta • Sierra Morena: south of the meseta

The mountains

What important rivers are there? On the meseta: • Duero • Tajo • Guadiana Around the meseta: • Guadalquivir • Miño

The Rivers

Spanish Watersheds

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WATERSHEDS OF SPAIN Watersheds They areas of land which descend from high mountain ranges. A watershed is an area of land that drains or “sheds” water into a specific waterbody. Every body of water has a watershed. Rivers on the same watershed flow into the same sea. Spain has three main watersheds: • The Cantabrian watershed has short, fast-flowing and rivers. Their flow is abundant and regular: the Nervion, the Saja, the Navia and the Nalon. • The Mediterranean watershed occupies about one third of Spain. The rivers are short and carry little water with the exception of the Ebro. Examples are the Jucar and the Segura. They flow is irregular. • The Atlantic watershed occupies over half of Spain. The flow of the rivers is abundant and regular: the Miño, the Duero, the Tajo, the Guadiana and the Guadalquivir. The Tajo is the longest river in Spain.