With an area of 500,000 square kilometers, Spain is second in size in Europe after France. Spain occupies most of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic islands east of the Peninsula and the Canary Islands are in the Atlantic, off the African coast, a distance of over a thousand kilometers from the mainland. To this we must add the two Spanish cities located in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla.
He has spoken often of Europe and the western end of the Old World. Well, the Iberian Peninsula is the westernmost and southernmost tip of Europe. This situation of the Iberian Peninsula approaches both to Africa, of which only fourteen kilometers apart as the Atlantic Ocean and, through him, to the American continent. Spain is defined as a crossroads between Europe and Africa, between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.
The Iberian Peninsula in the Mediterranean world, offers a certain originality. Presents a more compact, similar to the skin of the bull with the Greek geographer Strabo compared over two thousand years ago manner. And it is configured as a small continent whose center is Madrid. The average distance from the interior to the sea is always greater than 300 kms. The result is a massive territory, where the limited influence of the seas has created an environment of clear continental and relative isolation.
One of the most significant elements of the relief of Spain is the Central Plateau, formed by a group of land halfway between 600 and 1,200 meters. The Central Plateau occupies the center of the country and is bounded by mountains. The main ranges by way of the castle walls surrounding this plateau. That has often led to comparisons of Spain with a great natural strength.
It is a commonplace to consider Spain as a typical Mediterranean country. But the dominant Mediterranean climate with continental features coexist. The reflection of the climatic diversity of plant landscape is desert areas going from Spain to the green fields and forests. This variety becomes critical element of Spanish territory and the men who, since ancient times, occupy and use.
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