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94

8 The Physical Geography of Spain

The Iberian Peninsula is a bridgebetween two continents: Europeand Africa. It is also a bridgebetween bodies of water: theMediterranean Sea to the Southand East and the Atlantic Oceanto the North and West.

The physicalgeography ofSpain offers a greatvariety of landscapes.Spain is amountainous country.

It is joined to the rest ofEurope by a chain of

mountains, the Pyrenees.

Where is the IberianPeninsula?Which oceanand seasurround it?

Look at thispicture. What kindof landscape is it?What is thegeography of Spainlike?

Spain is in thesouthwest of

Europe. Spanishterritory includes mostof the Iberian Peninsula,except Portugal, theBalearic and CanaryIslands, Ceuta andMelilla.

Where is Spainlocated? Whatdoes the Spanishterritory consistof?

094_105_16310_U8.qxd:2º ciclo primaria 20/3/09 22:32 Página 94

A Mappa Mundi was a map medieval map thatrepresented what weknew of the world. AMappa Mundi wasusually large andmade of cloth. Thelargest one was3.5 metres indiameter.

My words

Basin, Delta, Estuary, Peak, Plain,

Plateau, Range, Relief, Tributary,

Valley.

42

95

What did a Mappa Mundirepresent? Can youname a person who made one?

Read, listen and answerThe Italian explorer andcartographer Amerigo Vespuccilived in Spain andtravelled toAmerica.

1. Who was Amerigo Vespucci? 2. What did he do?3. How did he know the new

land was not Asia?4. Who did he travel with?

41


96

Relief in Spain Can you name a mountainrange in Spain? Is Spain amountainous country?

1

Where is the Meseta located? What rivers flow across the Meseta? 2

What mountain ranges surround the Meseta? Where are thePicos de Europa?

3

Spain is mainly a mountainouscountry. Some mountain rangessurround the Central Plateau(the Meseta), and others areseparate from the Meseta. Theaverage altitude of the IberianPeninsula is 500m.

The Meseta is surrounded by different mountain systems.

The Montes de León, to the northeast, separate the Meseta from theMacizo Galaico. Teleno and Segundera are its main ranges. A range isa group of mountains within a system.

The Cordillera Cantábrica, to the north, separates the Meseta fromthe Bay of Biscay. The Picos de Europa is the main range.

The Sistema Ibérico, to the east, separates the Meseta from the EbroValley. Its main ranges are Picos de Urbión, Moncayo, Albarracín andthe Montes del Maestrazgo.

The Sierra Morena, to the south, separates the Meseta from theGuadalquivir Valley. It is not a high mountain system. The main rangesare Despeñaperros, Almadén, Madrona and Alcaráz.

Language Point

Average - The middle valueThe average altitude ofthe Iberian Peninsula is500 m.

The Meseta and itsmountain ranges

The Meseta consists of elevatedplains or plateaus. The riversDuero, Tajo and Guadiana flowacross it.

Two mountain ranges cross the Meseta: the Sistema Central, consistingof the Sierras de Gata, Gredos, Guadarrama, and Somosierra, and LosMontes de Toledo, a low mountain range in the south that includes theSierras de Montánchez and the Sierra de Guadalupe.

The mountain ranges in Spain.

MontePerdido3 355

Naranjo de Bulnes2 519

Peña Trevinca2 095

Aneto3 404

Mulhacén3 478

Teide3 712

Peñalara2 430

Moncayo2 313

CORDILLERA CANTÁBRICA PI R I N E O S S I S

T

EM

A

IB

ÉR

IC

O

S I S T E M A C E N T R A L

S I E R R A M O R E N A

C O R D I L L E R A SU B B É T I C

A

CORDILLERA PENIBÉTICA

Mon t e s de Toledo

Serranía

de Cuenca

S U B M E S E T A

N O R T E

S U B M E S E T A S U R

MontesVascos

Cordillera Coste

ro

Catalana

SierraTramuntana

Valle del Duero

V a l l e d e l T a j o

Depresión del Ebro


http://maps.nationalgeographic.com/map-machine#s=r&c=43.74999999999998,%20-99.71000000000001&z=4

97

What are the two main low areas in the Iberian Peninsula? Whatmountain ranges surround the Ebro lowlands?

4

Mountains far from the Meseta

River basins

The mountain systems in Spain that are notconnected to the Meseta are the following:

The Macizo Galáico is a group of low mountainsin the north east of the Peninsula. Its main rangesare Los Ancares and the Sierras de Manzanedaand Trevinca.

The Montes Vascos are in the north of thePeninsula. They are low mountains. The mainranges are the Sierras of Aralar and Aizkorri.

The Pyrenees are a large mountain system. Theyseparate the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of continental Europe, and extend for about 430 km. The highest peak in the Pyrenees is theAneto (3,404 m).

The Cordilleras Costeras Catalanas run parallelto the Mediterranean Coast. They are quite lowmountains, and include the Montseny range.

The Sistema Bético consists of the CordilleraSubbética, where we find the Sierras of Cazorlaand Segura, and the Cordillera Penibética withthe Serranía de Ronda and Sierra Nevada, whichincludes the highest peak of the Peninsula,Mulhacén (3,478 m).

MontePerdido3 355

Cabeza deManzaneda

1778

Peña deAmboto

1296

Peña Gorbea1475

Farode Avión

1551

Aneto3 404 Puigmal

2 913

Montserrat1224

Mulhacén3 478Veleta

3 395

PI R I N E O S

S I E R R A M O R E N A

C O R D I L L E R A SU B B É T I C

A

CORDILLERA PENIBÉTICA

MontesVascos

Mac

izo

Gal

aico

Cordillera Coste

ro

Catalana

Sierradel Faro

Sierradel Gistral

Depresión CentralSierra del Montsech

Flatlands and lowlands with rivers running across them are anotherfeature of Spanish geography. These areas are called basins. The maindepression is the Ebro basin, between the Pyrenees and the SistemaIbérico. This basin grows wider when the Ebro reaches theMediterranean coast. There, it forms a large delta.

The Guadalquivir basin is situated between the Sierra Morena and theCordillera Subbética. It widens at the point where the Guadalquivirreaches the Atlantic Ocean.

Now I know

Write two facts about each of these. a. The Mulhacén.

b. The Sistema Central.

c. The Teide.

d. The Sistema Ibérico.

e. The Pyrenees.

f. The Macizo Galaico.

ListenWhat places in the IberianPeninsula are beingdescribed?

43

What is a basin? Where are the main depressions in the Iberian Peninsula?5

Mountains far from the Meseta

Doñana.


98

Coasts, Islands and Rivers What Spanish islands do you know? Can you name the mostimportant rivers in Spain?

1

The Coast of the Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula has more than 5,000 km of coast.We can divide this coast into five parts. The Cantabriancoast is rocky. It has many cliffs, bays and beaches. TheGalician Atlantic coast is high and rocky. It has manycapes and rías. The Andalusian Atlantic coast is low andsandy. It has many beaches. The Southern Mediterraneancoast has many cliffs and is rocky. The EasternMediterranean coast is low, straight and sandy.

The Balearic Islands

The Balearic Islands are located in the Mediterranean Sea.They are made up of an archipelago of five islands:Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, Formentera and Cabrera.

Mallorca and Ibiza are joined to the Cordillera Bética under thesea. They are mainly flat islands. Mallorca has two mountainranges, the Sierra Tramuntana and the Sierras de Levante.

The Canary Islands

The Canary Islands are inthe Atlantic Ocean. Theyinclude the islands of LaPalma, La Gomera, ElHierro, Tenerife, GranCanaria, Fuerteventura andLanzarote. These islandshave a volcanic origin. Some of their volcanoes are still active. Onaverage they are high. The highest peak in Spain, El Teide, is inTenerife. The coasts here are rocky with cliffs.

What geographical features are present along the coast of theIberian Peninsula?

2

Which islands make up the Balearic Islands? 3

Which islands make up the Canary Islands? How did theseislands form?

4

Teide3 712

La Palma

El Hierro

La Gomera

Tenerife

Gran Canaria

Fuerteventura

La GraciosaAlegranza

Lanzarote

Language Point

Adjectives ending in ‘-y’Sand – sandy (with lotsof sand)Rock – rocky (with lotsof rocks)The EasternMediterranean coast islow, straight and sandy.

Mallorca

Cabrera

Menorca

Ibiza

Formentera

S.ª de T

ramontan

a

S.ª

de L

evan

te

Palma

San Franciscode Formentera

Ibiza

Mahón

AT

LA

NT

IC

O

CE

AN

B a y o f B i s c a y

ATLANTIC OCEAN

Ría de Ares y Betanzos

Ría de Arousa

M e d i t e r r a n e a n S e a

Golfo de Sant Jordi

Golfo de Vizcaya

Strait of Gibraltar

Golfo deRoses

Gol

fo d

e V

alen

cia

Cabo de La Nao

Cabo de Gata

Cabo de Palos

Punta de Tarifa

Cabo Fisterra

Punta de Estacade Bares

Cabo de Creus


http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/infonation3/menu/advanced.asp

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What are the main Spanish estuary groups? Which rivers carrythe most volume of water?

5

The rivers in Spain

Rivers are determined by climate andrelief. Most of the rivers in Spain areshort and have only a limited andirregular water flow. This is because,in general, Spain is not a rainycountry.

Spanish rivers flow into three seas oroceans. This means there are threegroups of estuaries.

The Mediterranean estuaries: therivers that flow into the MediterraneanSea usually carry little water and areshort (except for the Ebro). The mainMediterranean rivers are the Ebro,Júcar, Ter, Llobregat, Almanzora,Andarax, Guadalfeo, Guadalhorce,Mijares, Segura and Turia.

The Atlantic estuaries: the rivers that flow into the Atlantic Ocean arelong and the volume of water they carry depends on the season. Themain Atlantic rivers in the Meseta are the Duero, the Tajo and theGuadiana. In Andalucía, they are the Guadalquivir, the Tinto and theOdiel. The most important Galician rivers are the Miño, the Eume, theTambre and the Ulla.

The Cantabrian estuaries: the rivers that flow into the Bay of Biscayare short and have a regular and abundant volume of water. The mainrivers are the Bidasoa and the Nervión in the Basque Country, theBesaya and the Pas in Cantabria and the Sella, the Nalón and theNarcea in Asturias.

Now I know

Copy these sentences into your notebook and complete them.1. The rivers on the Cantabrian estuaries flow

into ......2. The rivers in Spain are affected by ......3. The islands in the Canary Islands are ......

4. We can divide the Spanish coast in five parts:......

5. Most of the rivers in Spain are short and have ......

ListenListen and correct the mistakes

44

Use the Internet to find outthe length of these Spanishrivers: the Tajo, the Ebro,the Duero, the Guadiana,the Guadalquivir, the Júcar,the Segura and the Miñon.Put them in order oflength.

Find out more

The rivers in Spain.

Tambre

M

iño

Ulla

Nar

cea

Sil

Esla

Bidasoa

Duero

Salor

Záncara Júcar

Matachel

Bembézar

Zújar

Ardila

Tint

o

Jalón

Ter

FluviáLlobr egat Nogue

ra Ri

bago

rzana

Gál

lego

Eo

Pisu

erg a

Esgueva

Tiétar

Alberche Taju

ña

Almonte

Guadal

imar

Turia

Arlanzón

Dev

a

B a y o f B i s c a y

M E D I T E R R A N E A N S E A

Órb

igo

Duero

Pormo

Cea

Carrión

Pas Nervión

Ara

gón Ebro

Hue

rva

Mar

tín

Flumen

Cin

ca

Eser

a

Nogu

era P

allar

esa

Segr

e

Hena

res

Eresma

Ada

ja Tormes

Tajo

Guadalete

Genil

Guadalmez Guadiato Guadajoz Gale

ra

Fardes

Jabalón

Cigü

ela

Guada

lén

Guadiana

Cabriel

Gua

dalo

pe

Jara

ma

Alag

ón

Guadiana

Biar

Corbenes

Mundo

SeguraQuipar

G

uadalquivir

Jándula

Bullaque

Andarax

Almanzora

Mijares Tajo

Nalón

Odi

el

AT

LA

NT

IC

O

CE

AN

Cantabrian Estuaries

Atlantic Estuaries

Mediterranean Estuaries


100

The Climates in Spain What is the climate like in your town? What is precipitation?1

Types of climate

There are five types of climates inSpain. Galicia, Cantabria, Asturiasand the Basque Country have anoceanic climate. These places arenear the Atlantic Ocean. Thecharacteristics of this climate aremild temperatures throughout yearand abundant precipitation. Themost common types of vegetationin these climate areas aredeciduous oak, chestnut andconifer forests. There are alsoeucalyptus trees.

The continental climate is found in most of the central areas of Spainsuch as The Meseta, the Ebro valley and parts of Andalucía andExtremadura. Temperatures are extreme. It is very hot in summer andin winter it is colder than in coastal areas. Precipitation is light in theseareas, but it often snows in winter.

The vegetation is adapted to more extreme temperatures. There arepines, firs, oaks, poplar trees and smaller plants like thyme androsemary.

What factors affect the climate? What is the temperature like inplaces near the coast?

2

What is the climate in Asturias like? What vegetation can youfind in the Meseta?

3

Atmospheric conditions are called weather when we measure them atone specific time. Climate consists of the average weather conditionsin an area over a period of time. Climate includes temperature,precipitation, wind and humidity. Climate depends on these factors:

1. The latitude, or distance of an area from the Equator.

2. The distance of an area from the sea. Places close to the sea haveless difference between summer and winter temperatures.

3. The altitude of an area. In mountain areas temperatures are lowerand there is more precipitation (rain, fog and snow).

Language Point

is found = we findThe continental climateis found in most of thecentral areas of Spain =We find the continentalclimate in most of thecentral areas of Spain.

Mountain climate.

The climates in Spain.

Atlantic Climate

Alpine Climate

Continental Climate

MediterraneanClimate

Subtropical Climate

Castilla-La Mancha

Melilla

Ceuta

Regiónde Murcia

Andalucía

Islas Canarias

Islas Baleares

C. ValencianaExtremadura

C. deMadrid

CataluñaAragón

Castilla y León

La Rioja

C. F. deNavarra

P. VascoCantabriaP. de Asturias

Galicia


http://www.spain.info/uk/tourspain

101

Why is the temperature in a subtropical dry climate warm all theyear? What type of precipitation does a mountain climate have?

1

More climate types

The coastal areas near theMediterranean and the Atlanticcoast of Andalusia have aMediterranean climate. Thereare high temperatures in summerand mild winters. Precipitation islight and infrequent. Plants in theMediterranean climate areadapted to receiving little water.The most common types of vegetation are pine forests, oaks andchestnuts, shrubs, thyme, rosemary and in some places, palms.

High altitude areas in the mountains (over 1000 m) have a mountainclimate. Temperatures are low in winter (often below 0° Celsius), andcool in summer. These places have abundant precipitation in the formof snow. Their vegetation is affected by its location and the amount ofsunshine. There are oak trees in the coldest places and evergreen treesin the warmest places.

The Canary Islands have a subtropicaldry climate. Temperatures are warmall year and precipitation is light andinfrequent. Their vegetation is affectedby the altitude.

In low areas bushes and cacti arecommon, and in medium altitudeareas bay, holly and lime trees can befound. In addition, Canary pines growat higher altitudes.

Now I know

Read and complete.

1. Galicia, Cantabria and Asturias have ..... climate.

2. Palms grow in places with a ..... climate

3. In a ..... climate, plants are adapted to need little rain.

4. Most of the central areas of Spain have a ..... climate.

ListenListen and guess the typesof climate.

45

subtropical dry continental oceanic mediterranean

Apart from oak trees andevergreen trees, what otherplants and animals live inmountain climates. Use theInternet to find out andmake a poster.

Find out more

Mountain climate.

The Canary Islands.

Mediterranean climate.


My turn

102

Make a climate diagram

Draw a bar to represent the amount of precipitation. Colour them.7

Mark each month’s temperature with a red dot.9

Mark ten marks at 5mm intervals on the left axis, one for eachfive degrees of temperature from 0 to 40.

8

Make a climate diagram for the place where you live. Ask yourteacher for the information to complete the table.

1

Copy the table and add the data.2

Draw the main axes on a piece of graph paper.3

Make twelve marks at 5 mm intervals on the horizontal axis.Write the months below them.

4

Make 10 marks at 5mm intervals on the right axis. One for each5 mm of precipitation from 0 to 50.

6

Label the left axis “Temperature” and the right axis “Precipitation”.5

S28

O N D37 35 26

Average temperatureRainfall

(mm)

566 7 11 12 16 21 25 24 21 15 9 7

Climate diagram of Madrid

605040302010

00

302520151050

(ºC)

J F M A47 52 25 15 10 49 57

M J J A

A climate diagram shows the weather conditions in a particular placeduring a period of time.

MONTHS

AVERAGETEMPERATURE (Cº)

TOTAL PRECIPITATION(MM)

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

Choose a foreign city youwould like to visit andinvestigate its climate.Make a climate diagramwith the information youfind then display thediagrams in the class.

Find out more


Our world

103

High Mountains

Spain is one of the mostmountainous countries inEurope, with an average altitudeof 500 metres. Only Switzerlandhas a higher average altitudethan Spain. However, in theworld, there are many countrieswith a higher average altitudeand higher peaks.

Which two countries inEurope have the highestaverage altitude?

1

Where are the highest mountains in the world located? 2

Are there any mountains higher than Mount Everest? 3

What affects can high altitude have on our bodies?4

Mountains cover 24% of theEarth’s surface. 64% of Asia,36% of North America, 25% ofEurope, 22% of South America,17% of Australia, and 3% ofAfrica.

The world’s highest mountain is Mount Everest. It is 8.848 m high. It islocated in the Himalayan mountain range. There are more than 30peaks in the Himalayas over 7,620 m. The Himalayas is one of theyoungest mountain ranges in the world and it is still growing.

But there is a mountain that is even higher than MountEverest!

Mount Olympus is the highest known volcano andmountain in the Solar System. It is located on theplanet Mars. It is three times higher than MountEverest.

When we are at the top of a high mountain we oftenfeel weak and disorientated. This is because the airpressure at the top of high mountains is lower than atsea level and this affects our respiratory system.

The Teide.

TheHimalayas.


My progress

104

Complete the sentences with one or more words.

1. Spanish territory includes most of the Iberian Peninsula, theBalearic and Canary Islands ......

2. ..... was the first person to show that the New World discoveredby Christopher Columbus in 1492 was not Asia.

3. Spain is joined to Europe by a chain of mountains called ......4. Two mountains ranges cross the Meseta are ......5. ..... are flat and lowlands with rivers running through them. 6. The Balearic islands are made up of an archipelago of five

islands: ......7. The main rivers in the Meseta that flow into the Atlantic Ocean

are: ......8. Precipitation is the amount of ......9. The rivers in Spain are affected by ......

10. The five types of climates in Spain are: ......

1

Explain these terms in your own words.

1. The Iberian Peninsula is ...... 4. The Meseta refers to ......2. A Mappa Mundi was ...... 5. Ceuta and Melilla are ......3. Vespucci was the man who proved ...... 6. Precipitation refers to ......

2

Copy and complete the map.3


Organising what I know

105

Look at the mind map. Copy and complete it.1

Listen. Which terms are defined?3

Can you add any more words?2

46

Montánez and Guadalupe

RELIEF OF SPAIN

.....

.......... ..... .....

..... ..... .....

..... ..... ..... .....

..... .....

SISTEMA BÉTICO

exterior mountain ranges

mountain ranges around the Meseta

.....

Gata, Gredos, Guadarrama and Somosierra

in the centre of Spain

.....

important rivers that cross itmountain ranges that cross it


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