GEOGRAPHY
Location:
Southwestern Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay, Mediterranean
Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, and Pyrenees Mountains, southwest of
France
Geographic coordinates:
40 00 N, 4 00 W
Map references: Europe
Area:
total: 504,750 sq km
land: 499,400 sq km
water: 5,350 sq km
note: includes Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, and five
places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast
of Morocco—Ceuta, Melilla, Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas,
and Penon de Velez de la Gomera
Area—comparative:
slightly more than twice the size of Oregon
Land boundaries:
total: 1,919.1 km
border countries: Andorra 65 km, France 623 km, Gibraltar
1.2 km, Portugal 1,214 km, Morocco (Ceuta) 6.3 km, Morocco (Melilla)
9.6 km
Coastline: 4,964
km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm (applies only to the Atlantic
Ocean)
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: temperate;
clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along
coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool
along coast
Terrain: large, flat
to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills; Pyrenees in north
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico de Teide (Tenerife) on Canary Islands
3,718 m
Natural resources:
coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar,
gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin, potash, hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 30%
permanent crops: 9%
permanent pastures: 21%
forests and woodland: 32%
other: 8% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 34,530
sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards:
periodic droughts
Environment—current
issues: pollution 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
agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides,
Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification
Geography—note:
strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar
