Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

499

Golfo de

Valencia

Golfo de

Cadiz

Strait^ of^ G

ibraltar^

Bay of Biscay

Mediterranean

Sea

A

T

L

A

N

T

I

C

O

C

E

A

N

Ibiza

(Eivissa)

Formentera

Majorca

(Mallorca)

Cabrera

Minorca

(Menorca)

Tagus

Ebro

Segura

Miño

Elsa

Embalse

de Almendra

Embalse

de Alcántara

Embalse de

Valdecañas

Duero^

Gua

dalquiv

ir^

Gua

dian

a^ Júcar^

Embalse de

Ricobayo

andORRa

MOROccO

P

O

R

t

U

G

a

L

F R

a n

c E^

sPain

GiBRaLtaR (to UK)

(^) Co
sta Ve
rde
Co
sta
B
ra
va
Co
st
a^
Bl
an
ca
Costa^ del^ Sol^
Balearic Islands
(Islas Baleares)
Sierra^ Neva
da
P
y r
e n
e e
s
Co
rdill
era^ Cant
ábrica
(^) S
is
te
m
a
I
b
é
r
i
c
o
Si
ste
ma
C
en
tr
al
Si
err
a^ M
oren
a^
Sis
tem
as
Bé
ti
co
s^
M e s e t a
Aneto
3404m
Torre de Cerredo
2648m
Mulhacén
3481m
Lugo
Pontevedra
Santiago
Zamora
Palencia
Soria
Huesca Girona
Teruel
Cuenca
Guadalajara
Segovia
Ávila
Toledo
C·ceres
Ciudad Real
Marbella
Almería
Benidorm
Ceuta (to Spain)
Mellila (to Spain)
a coruña
albacete
alicante
Bilbao
cádiz
cartagena
córdoba
donostia-san sebastián
Gijón
Granada
Lleida
(Lérida)
Palma
Pamplona
salamanca
santander
Valladolid
León
Vigo
Ourense
Oviedo
Burgos
Vitoria-Gasteiz
Logroño
tarragona
castellón de la Plana
Badajoz
Huelva
Jaén
Murcia
Barcelona
Málaga
seville
(sevilla)
Valencia
Zaragoza
MadRid
N
S
W E
0
0 50 100
50 100
scaLE BaR
km
miles
La Palma
Lanzarote
Tenerife
Gran
Canaria
Fuerteventura
Gomera
Hierro
ATL
ANT IC OCEAN
CaNarY iSlaNDS
(iSlaS CaNariaS)
(to Spain)
Puerto del Rosario
Santa Cruz
de Tenerife
Las Palmas
de Gran Canaria
Volcano Mountain Capital
city
Large
city/
town
Small
city/
town
Ancient
monument
Madrid
Spain’s largest city, Madrid,
lies at the centre of the
country, surrounded by a
broad plain. Madrid has
been Spain’s capital city
since the 16th century.
Recently it has become
an important centre for
commerce and industry.
The Gran Via (Great
Way), shown here,
highlights some of the city’s
most beautiful architecture,
and is also a bustling street with
many shops, hotels, and theatres.
PyReneeS
These majestic
mountains form
a natural boundary
with France.
statistics
area: 195,124 sq miles
(505,370 sq km)
Population: 48,146,000
capital: Madrid
Languages: Spanish,
Catalan, Galician, Basque
Religion: Roman
Catholic
currency: euro
Main occupations:
Manufacturing,
shipbuilding, fishing,
agriculture
Main exports: Textiles,
chemicals, ships, cars,
fish, fruit and vegetables
Main imports: Oil,
natural gas
MeSeTa
Much of this vast plateau of ancient
rock is covered with dry, dusty high
plains. It has thin soils and is mainly
used to graze sheep.
CORdilleRa CanTaBRiCa
These rugged, forested mountains rise
on Spain’s Atlantic coast. They form
the northern edge of the Meseta.
POPulaTiOn
in the first half of the
20th century, most of
the Spanish population
lived in villages or small
towns, scattered around
the country. Today,
tourism and industry
have drawn most of the
population to the cities
and the coastal areas.
canaRy isLands
it was not a bird, but a dog that gave its name
to the Canary islands. in ancient times, the
islands were the home of many dogs: Canary
comes from the same word in latin as canine.
The islands lie about 60 miles (100 km) off
the northwest coast of africa.
spAin
US_499_Spain_4.indd 499 09/02/16 5:28 pm