Relief in Spain

Location and key words• The territory of Spain is made up: Iberian Peninsula, Balearic islands in

the Mediterranean sea, Canary islands in the Atlantic ocean and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla in Northern Africa.• Mountains are big elevations of land. Many mountains together are

called a mountain range and many mountain ranges together are called a mountain chain.• Plains are large áreas of flat land. Plateaus are areas of flat landthat

are high above sea level. Valleys and River basins are low, flat areas between mountains.• The central part of the península is a large Plateau.

Relief of the Plateau• The Central Plateau(La Meseta Central) covers much of the interior of the

Peninsula. There are two mountains chains inside the Plateau:• The Central Chain(El Sistema Central) made up of the mountain ranges: Gata,

Gredos its tallest point is Almanzor, Guadarrama and Ayllón. The Central Chain divides the Plateau into two Sub-plateaus: the North Sub-plateau mostly extended by Castilla y León and South Sub-plateau extended by Comunidad de Madrid, Castilla y la Mancha y Extremadura.• The Toledo Mountains(Los Montes de Toledo) located in the South Sub-plateau,

is a chain with low mountain ranges like San Pedro, Guadalupe and Las Villuercas.

Mountain Chains around the Plateau• The Plateau is surrounded by mountain chains:• The León Mountains(Montes de León) the most important peak is the Teleno.

(2,188m.)• The Cantabrian Chain(Cordillera Cantábrica)to the north is made up of high

mountain ranges near the coast , like the Peaks of Europe(Picos de Europa).(2,648m.)• The Iberian Chain(Sistema Ibérico)separates the Pateau from the Ebro Valley.Its

main peak is Moncayo(2,313m)• Morena Range(Sierra Morena)in the south separates the Meseta from

Guadalquivir Valley. Its main peak is Bañuela(1,323m.)

Mountain chains outside the Plateau• The Galician Massif(Macizo Galaico) to the noth-west,is made up of rounded

mountain ranges, like the Manzaneda. Its highest peak is Cabeza de Manzaneda(1,778m.)• The Basque Mountains(Montes Vascos) The highest peak is Aitxurri(1,551m).• The Pyrenees(Pirineos) to the north-east, mark the border with France. The

Highest peak is Aneto(3,404m.)• The Catalonian Coastal Chain(Cordillera Costero-Catalana) to the north-east,is

made up of mountains like, Montserrat and Montseny.• The Betic Chain(Sistema Bético) to the south, is made up of: The Penibetic

Chain( Cordillera o Sistema Penibético),has Nevada Range, which has Mulhacén, The highest peak of the Peninsula(3,479m.) The Subbetic Chain( Cordillera o Sistema Subbético) has La Sagra and Cazorla Ranges.

River basins• River basins are low plains between high mountains. There are two

major river basins:• The Ebro river basin. It is in the north-east of the Peninsula. It is

surrounded by the Pyrennes, the Catalonian Coastal Chain and the Iberian Chain.• The Guadalquivir river basin. It is in the south-west, between the

Morena Range, the Betic Chain and the Atlantic coast.• Both of the principal river basins are triangular in shape.

Relief on the Coasts

Key words• Capes are áreas of land that go out into the sea.• Deltas form at the mouths of rivers where there is an accumulation of

the materials they carry.• Gulfs are parts of the sea that cut into the land. Small gulfs are called

Bays. A ria is a deep and narrow cut into the mouth of a river made by the sea.• Mouth of a river(desembocadura)

• The Atlantic coast is divided into two parts:1. The Atlantic coast of Galicia It goes from the Estaca de Bares to the mouth of the

river Miño. Its coast has lots of cliffs with capes like Fisterra and Ortegal or rias like the ones at Arousa and Vigo.

2. The Atlantic coast of Andalucía in the south-west of the península. It goes from the mouth of the Guadiana river toPunta de Tarifa. It has a low, Sandy coast with capes and gulfs like Cape Trafalgar or the Gulf of Cádiz.

• The Mediterranean Coast It goes from Tarifa to Cape Creus. It has lots of beaches with capes like capes: Gata, Palos or Nao. It has the Ebro Delta, the Valencia and Roses gulfs and Mar Menor.• The Cantabrian coast is in the north of the Peninsula. It goes from Estaca de Bares to the

mouth of the river Bidasoa. It has the capes: Peñas,Ajo and Matxitxaco, the Gulf of Vizcaya, the ria of Bilbao and the Santander Bay.

The Spanish peninsular coastline is very long. It is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean sea and the Cantabrian sea

Rivers of Spain/ key words• Rivers are continuous currents of water that flow into the sea, another river or a

lake.• Course (El curso)it is the path of the river.• Water flow(El caudal)It is the amount of water that a river carries.• A flow regime(El régimen) is the change in a river´s water flow during a year.

Most of Spanish rivers have ana irregular water flow because their flow decreases during the summer . This period of less water flow is called low water flow(estiaje). The rivers in areas with an oceanic climate have a regular flow regime because it rains often.• Watershed/slope(Vertiente) This is the area of land through which rivers flow

into the same sea. Spanish rivers belong to three watersheds: The Cantabrian, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean watershed.

Rivers of the Cantabrian watershed/slope

• The rivers are short and have a heavy water flow and regular flow regime.(Tiene un régimen regular, son caudalosos y cortos).• The most important rivers:• The river Eo(on the border between Galicia and Asturias).• Navia and Nalón, with its tributary(afluente) Narcea,(Asturias)• Nervión, which forms the ria of Bilbao, and the Bidasoa(País

Vasco),which forms the border with France.

Rivers of the Atlantic watershed/slope

• The rivers of Galicia: Miño with its tributary, el Sil. Eume, Tambre and Ulla.• The rivers of the Plateau:1. The river Duero starts in the Peaks of Urbión. Its main tributaries: The Pisuerga,

Esla, Tormes and The Adaja.2. The river Tajo it is the longest river. Its tributaries: Jarama, Guadarrama,

Alberche, Tiétar and Alagón.3. The river Guadiana Its tributaries are Zújar, Záncara y Cigüela.• The rivers of western Andalucía the river Guadalquivir, which is navigable

downriver. Its tributary el Genil. Other rivers are the Tinto and Odiel.

Rivers of the Mediterranean watershed/slope

• The river Ebro It starts in Cantabria and flows into Cataluña. Its main tributaries are:The Segre, Jalón, Aragón, Gállego and Cinca.• The rivers Ter and Llobregat flow through Cataluña.• The river Júcar, and its tributary the Gabriel, and the rivers Turia and

Segura flow through Valencia.• The rivers Guadalhorce and Almanzora flow through eastern

Andalucía.

Web pages:• http://v2.educarex.es/web/fsanchezm02/los-rios-de-espana• http://serbal.pntic.mec.es/ealg0027/esporog1e.html• http://serbal.pntic.mec.es/ealg0027/espacostas1e.html