These winds originate in northern Africa and keep temperatures along the Mediterranean coast milder than the interior. Many Spaniards share a common ethnic background: a mixture of the early inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula, the Celts, and later conquerors from Europe and Africa.
The origins of the Basque people in the north of Spain remain unknown. Recent immigrants from North Africa and Latin America have added to the mix.
Spaniards are known for their love of life and for eating and drinking with family and friends. Traditional appetizers like tapas or pintxos, the Basque country equivalent, are popular. Regional dances and music are almost as important as soccer and religious festivals. A link between Europe and Africa, Spain is an important resting spot for migratory birds. Spain is also home to such mammals as the wolf , lynx, wildcat, fox, wild boar, deer, hare, and wild goat.
Streams and lakes shelter trout, barbel, and tench fish. But many species of wildlife face threats from habitat loss and pollution. Due to centuries of tree cutting, large forests are now found only in the north Pyrenees and the Asturias-Galicia area. Planting new trees is difficult where sheep and goats graze. Erosion and river pollution are also problems. Spain has created many national parks and refuges, but they only cover about 7 percent of the country.
The Iberian Peninsula covers approximately , km 2 , accounting for about 5. It extends from Punta de Tarifa on the extreme south to Punta de Estaca de Bares on the northern extremity. From the west, the peninsula begins at Cabo da Roca and extends to Cap de Creus in the east. It forms an irregular octagonal shape resembling an ox-hide. The Iberian Peninsula is separated from the rest of Europe by the Pyrenees mountain range located between France and Spain.
The peninsula is mainly occupied by Spain and Portugal. It also occupies much of the landform, including the northwest, east, and central parts.
Spain accounts for It is bordered to the northwest and west by Portugal , north by Andorra and Southern France, and south by Gibraltar. It occupies It is bordered to the east and north by Spain.
Andorra is located entirely on the Iberian Peninsula. France is represented on the peninsula by the Pyrenees-Orientales and accounts for about 0. Gibraltar, located on the southern tip, occupies only 7 square kilometers on the peninsula. River Ebro runs on the north and northeastern part of the peninsula, particularly Spain , and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is crossed by Sistema Central mountain range, leaving Submeseta Sur and Submeseta Norte to the south and north respectively.
It is the source of most rivers that flow throughout the peninsula. Front Matter Pages i-xviii. Front Matter Pages Pages Bioclimatology of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. Dynamism in Vegetation. Vegetation Changes on a Short Time Scale.
A Concise Synopsis. The Pyrenees. The Spanish coastline is 5, kilometres long. The surface of Spain is extremely varied and characterised by a relatively high average altitude; over metres above sea level.
As such, it is the second-highest country in Europe, surpassed only by Switzerland where the average altitude is 1, metres. This is due to the presence at the centre of the peninsula of a vast plateau, known as the Meseta, divided into two smaller plateaus by the Sistema Central mountain range.
A series of other mountain ranges around the plateau and others located on the edges of the peninsula complete the topographical analysis. There are two depressions the Ebro and Guadalquivir river valleys located between the Meseta and the peripheral ranges.
The natural fluvial regime of Spain's rivers mainly depends on the pattern of precipitation, where its waters originate and transform into surface water or groundwater runoff. However, this natural fluvial pattern is affected by human action in the form of infrastructures used to regulate and modify its temporal distribution, as well as other types of actions that remove volumes of water from rivers.
The diversity of climates in Spain, together with other morphological and geological factors, explains the enormous contrasts in its present-day hydrographical composition. Although the climates in Spain are difficult to classify because of their widely varying nature, it is possible to distinguish the following types:. Precipitation is also marked by sharp contrasts: the north and northwest, which are directly influenced by the Atlantic, have abundant rainfall and no distinguishable dry season.
The remainder of the country is predominantly dry, with an annual precipitation of less than mm. The southeast of Spain is semi-arid, with annual precipitation below mm and a semi-desert landscape that at times is reminiscent of the Sahara. Spain's rich diversity in terms of climate, petrography and topography has given rise to the formation of several clearly defined ecological regions, which in turn have led to the development of a broad spectrum of vegetation types.
Another influential factor is the intensity of human activity, which has gradually transformed our natural surroundings since the Neolithic period, often adding to the already diverse array of habitats. Under natural conditions, virtually the entire country would be covered by forests; only a few enclaves in the highest mountains and certain extremely dry areas in the southeast and in the Canary Islands do not lend themselves to the natural development of this type of vegetation.
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