Destination Guide To Spain

GEOGRAPHY & BACKGROUND

Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España[1]), is a European parliamentary monarchy. It is the largest of the three sovereign nations that make up the Iberian Peninsula—the others are Portugal and Andorra—located in Southern Europe. To the west and to the south of Galicia, Spain borders Portugal. To the south, it borders Gibraltar and, through its cities in North Africa (Ceuta and Melilla), Morocco. To the northeast, along the Pyrenees mountain range, it borders France and the tiny principality of Andorra. It also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean and a number of uninhabited islands on the Mediterranean side of the strait of Gibraltar, known as Plazas de soberanía, such as the Chafarine islands, the isle of Alborán, the "rocks" (peñones) of Vélez and Alhucemas, and the tiny Isla Perejil. In the northeast along the Pyrenees, a small exclave town called Llívia in Catalonia is surrounded by French territory.

Mainland Spain is dominated by high plateaus and mountain ranges such as the Pyrenees or the Sierra Nevada. Running from these heights are several major rivers such as the Tajo, the Ebro, the Duero, the Guadiana and the Guadalquivir. Alluvial plains are found along the coast, the largest of which is that of the Guadalquivir in Andalusia, in the east there are alluvial plains with medium rivers like Segura, Júcar and Turia. Spain is bound to the east by Mediterranean Sea (containing the Balearic Islands), to the north by the Bay of Biscay and to its west by the Atlantic Ocean, where the Canary Islands off the African coast are found.

Spain's climate is very diverse and can be divided in the following areas:

The Northern and Eastern Mediterranean coast (Catalonia, Northern Valencia): Mild summers with pleasant temperatures and relatively mild winters. Relatively dry climate, similar to southern France.

The South East Mediterranean coast (Alicante, Almería): Warm summers and mild winters. Very dry semi-desert, rainfall as low as 150mm a year.

Southern Mediterranean coast (Málaga): Warm summers ,very mild winters. Average yearly temperatures close to 20 degrees celsius (subtropical).

The Guadalquivir valley (Seville, Cordoba): Very hot and dry summers and mild winters.

South West Atlantic coast (Cadiz, Huelva): Pleasant summers, very mild winters. Relatively humid.

The interior tableland: Cold winters (depending mostly on altitude) and hot, dry summers. Relatively dry weather (400-600mm per year).

Ebro Valley (Zaragoza): Very hot summers, cold winters. Very dry semi-desert climate.

Northern Atlantic coast or "Green Spain" (Galicia, Asturias, Coastal Basque country): A very wet climate, with mild summers and winters.

The Canary Islands: subtropical weather, with mild temperatures (18 °C to 24 °C; 64 °F to 75 °F) throughout the year. Desertic in the Eastern islands and moister in the westernmost ones.

At 194,884 mi² (504,782 km²), Spain is the world's 51st-largest country (after Thailand). It is comparable in size to Turkmenistan, and somewhat larger than the US state of California.

For more information please visit http://www.fco.gov.uk/

or visit http://www.tripadvisor.com