Spain: Geography#

LocationSouthwestern Europe, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, Bay of Biscay, and Pyrenees Mountains; southwest of France
Geographic Coordinates40 00 N, 4 00 W 40.0,-4.0
Area total: 505,370 sq km
land: 498,980 sq km
water: 6,390 sq km
note: there are two autonomous cities - Ceuta and Melilla - and 17 autonomous communities including Balearic Islands and Canary Islands, and three small Spanish possessions off the coast of Morocco - Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera
[Verified in 8 databases]
Land boundariestotal: 1,920.4 km
border countries: Andorra 63.7 km, France 623 km, Gibraltar 1.2 km, Portugal 1,214 km, Morocco (Ceuta) 8 km, Morocco (Melilla) 10.5 km
note: an additional 75-meter border segment exists between Morocco and the Spanish exclave of Penon de Velez de la Gomera
Coastline4,964 km
Elevation Extremeslowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico de Teide (Tenerife) on Canary Islands 3,718 m
Highest MountainsDue to difference in mountain rankings taken from two data sources we are listing here both lists :
According to Wolfram: Pico de Teide 3718 m; Mulhacén 3482 m; Pico d'Aneto 3404 m; Pico Veleta 3398 m; Pico de Posets 3375 m
According to Geonames: Pico de Teide 3718 m; Veleta 3394 m; Monte Perdido 3355 m; Massif de Vignemale 3298 m; Pic Perdighero 3222 m

Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office@global-geography.org
Important Mountains
Terrainlarge, flat to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills; Pyrenees Mountains in north
Natural Hazardsperiodic droughts, occasional flooding volcanism: volcanic activity in the Canary Islands, located off Africa's northwest coast; Teide (elev. 3,715 m) has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; La Palma (elev. 2,426 m), which last erupted in 1971, is the most active of the Canary Islands volcanoes; Lanzarote is the only other historically active volcano
Natural Resourcecoal, lignite, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, uranium, tungsten, mercury, pyrites, magnesite, fluorspar, gypsum, sepiolite, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land
Land Usearable land: 24.75%
permanent crops: 9.29%
other: 65.96% (2011)
Climatetemperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast
Irrigated Land34,700 sq km (2011)
Renewable Water Resources111.5 cu km (2011)
Environment_CurrentIssuespollution of the Mediterranean Sea from raw sewage and effluents from the offshore production of oil and gas; water quality and quantity nationwide; air pollution; deforestation; desertification
Environment - international agreementsparty to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants
Large CitiesMadrid; Barcelona; Valencia; Seville; Zaragoza
[Verified]
Important Cities
Geography-notestrategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar; Spain controls a number of territories in northern Morocco including the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, and the islands of Penon de Velez de la Gomera, Penon de Alhucemas, and Islas Chafarinas