Index  | Activity 10 | Activity 12 |  Activity 13 

UNIDAD 3: EUROPA, AMÉRICA Y ASIA

ACTIVITY 11:  SPAIN

  1. Read the following text:

Spain is at the Iberian Peninsula, of which it occupies approximately 80% (the remaining 20% are occupied by Portugal), in the southwest of Europe. In the north Spain borders on France and Andorra, with the Pyrenees as a natural frontier. Additionally the Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Cabrera, Formentera and Ibiza), in the Mediterranean Sea, Canary Islands in Atlantic Ocean close to the Moroccian coast, and Ceuta and Melilla, located in northern Africa, are Spanish territory.

Spain is the 3^rd country of Europe in extension and the 5^th in population.

There are six big mountain ranges crossing the country (Cordillera Bética, Sierra Morena, Sistema Central, Cordillera Cantábrica and Pyrenees), and about 50% of it are located at an elevated plain: the Meseta Central.

Landscapes are extremely varied, some almost desert-like, others green and fertile, and of course there are the long coasts, in the east along Mediterranean Sea from Pyrenees to Gibraltar, and in the west (the major part of the Iberian peninsula's western coast is occupied by Portugal) along the Atlantic Ocean and Cantabrian Sea.

2. Write down these questions in your notebook.

1)     What are the boundaries of your country?

2)     What are the biggest mountains in Spain?

Map: wikipedia.org

3. Read the text:

Of the  1,800 rivers and streams in Spain, only the Tagus is more than 960 kilometers long; all but 90 extend less than 96 kilometers. These shorter rivers carry small volumes of water on an irregular basis, and they have seasonally dry river beds; however, when they do flow, they often are swift and torrential. Most major rivers rise in the mountains rimming or dissecting the Meseta Central and flow westward across the plateau through Portugal to empty into the Atlantic Ocean. One significant exception is the Rio Ebro, which flows eastward to the Mediterranean. Rivers in the extreme northwest and in the narrow northern coastal plain drain directly into the Atlantic Ocean. The northwestern coastline is also truncated by rias.

The major rivers flowing westward through the Meseta Central include the Douro, the Tagus, the Guadiana, and the Guadalquivir. The Rio Guadalquivir is one of the most significant rivers in Spain because it irrigates a fertile valley, thus creating a rich agricultural area, and because it is navigable inland, making Seville the only inland river port for ocean-going traffic in Spain. The major river in the northwest region is the Minho.

4. Copy the names of the spanish rivers into your notebook.

5. What is the longest river in Spain?

Index  | Activity 10 | Activity 12 |  Activity 13