Geography:
Do you know what % of landmass belongs to Andalucia?

Geographically speaking, The Iberian Peninsular is a southernmost point of European Continent. It is the entrance-point to the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean.

Spanish geography shares an 85% of the Iberian Peninsular with Portugal and Andorra. It occupies 85% of the Iberian land mass. The Pyrenees form a natural frontier with France. Gibraltar is 10kms distance from Africa.
(With the exception of Switzerland), Spain is the highest country in Europe, averaging heights of 600mts. It is the third largest European country, after Russia and France.
The Iberian Penninsular is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Cantabrian Sea.

The 19 Regions and their Capitals.

• Madrid: Madrid
• Catalonia: Barcelona
• Castilla y Leon: Valladolid
• Castilla-La Mancha: Toledo
• Navarra: Pamplona
• Galicia: Santiago de Compostela
• Asturias: Oviedo
• Cantabria: Santander
• Basque Country: Victoria
• Aragon: Zaragoza
• La Rioja: Logroño
• Valencia: Valencia
• Murcia: Murcia
• Extremadura: Merida
• Andalucia: Sevilla
• Balearic Islands: Palma de Mallorca
• Canary Islands:Las Palmas de Gran Canaria or Santa Cruz de Tenerife

The Coasts and Border Areas of the Andaluz provinces.

• Almeria: The Almeria coast, Mediterranean coasts,
• Malaga: The Costa del Sol, Mediterranean coasts,
• Cadiz: Atlantic coasts,
(the coolest and windiest),
• Huelva: Costa de la Luz, Atlantic coasts,
(the coolest and windiest),
• Sevilla: Interior,
• Cordoba: Interior,
• Granada: The Costa Tropical, Mediterranean coast,
• Jaen: Interior.

Mainland Coastal Areas.
There are over 2,000 beaches in Spain.

• Rías Bajas, (Galicia)
• Rías Altas, (Galicia)
• Costa Verde, (Asturias)
• Costa Vasca, (País Vasco)
• Costa Brava, (Cataluña)
• Costa de Maresme, (Cataluña)
• Costa de Garraf, (Cataluña)
• Costa Dorada, (Cataluña)
• Costa Azahar, (Valencia)
• Costa Valencia, (Valencia)
• Costa Blanca, (Valencia)
• Costa Cálida, (Murcia)
• Costa Almería, (Andalucía)
• Costa Tropical, (Andalucía)
• Costa del Sol, (Andalucía)
• Costa de la Luz, (Andalucía)

17.3% of Spanish territory belongs to Andalucía, with 900kms of Andaluz shorelines. Much of Andalucía enjoys over 300 days of sunshine per year.

Spain can be Divided into Two Geographical Distinct Landscapes:

Northern Wet Spain, with lush and lofty, deciduous, beech and oak forests.
Dry Mediterranean Spain which is divisible:

• The Meseta side
• The Iberian Depression on the Mediterranean Side.

It is a major feature of the Spanish territory, characterized, by a north to southern inclination, with a drier steppe climate.

• Meseta vegetation: Holm Oaks and cork trees
• Geographically, Mediterranean Andalucia has a dry, xerophytic thorny scrub with scant vegetation
• Mediterranean forests are: predominantly Holm oaks, (the staple diet - especially for the esteemed (Pata Negra) porcine breeds) intermixed with conifers, Aleppo pines, Beeches, Chestnuts, Larch, African Palms and Cork trees
• There are rare Spanish silverspruces (limited to the geography of the Penebetica and in the Sierra de Ronda)
• Forest felling and over-cultivation rapidly diminish natural Mediterranean greenery
• Forest fires cause irrevocable geographical damage
• River banks have Poplar and Ash accompanied with towering Eucalyptus trees

The Iberian peninsular has over two million hectares of Dehesa. This is a scrub-free, thinly wooded pastureland of Holm oaks and cork trees.
Most of the Dehesa is found in southeastern Andalucia.

• The Dehesa is a principle cereal crops
• A popular winter destination for thousands of cranes
• A free-range breeding area for bulls
• Sheep and cattle grazing land

The Andaluz climate has proved an attraction point since centuries ago. Coastal estuaries teem with water birds especially in Doña Ana.
25,000Km2 of the total landmass, (of which 5%) of the Geographical Iberian Peninsular is Protected Land.

Spain has over 6,000 flowering species, which is 40% of all flora species.
The Pyrenees are a 'natural barrier' protecting the Iberian Penninsular's (spontaneously-born) flora.

Climate and Vegetation Influences:
Climate: Rainfall, temperature, sun exposure, water shortage.
Earth: Acid or Alkaline soil, salt-content, drainage-capacity, humus and land mass relief.

• The Alps block moist Atlantic winds
• Less rain falls in Southern Europe compared to northwestern Europe
• Sirroco (terral) winds are high, dry winds from North Africa increasing temperatures
• Levante winds push away the Atlantic winds and are also drying winds

Principal mountain ranges are:

• The Cantábrico,
• The Gredo
• The Guadarrama sierras
• The Iberica
• Costero Catalana
• The Carpentana
• The Oretna
• The Sierra Morena in (Andalucía)
• Cordillera Penebetica in (Andalucía)

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