Spain Area Guide

Spain

Spain is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar; to the north by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the northwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal. Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, that border Morocco. With an area of 504,030km, Spain is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union after France.

Travel is easy, accommodation plentiful, the people relaxed, the beaches long and sandy, the food and drink easy to come by and full of regional variety. More than 50 million foreigners a year visit Spain, yet you can also travel for days and hear nothing but Spanish.

Spain / Espana Information / Spain / Espana Fast Facts

• Country: Spain / Espana
• Capital city: Madrid
• Area: 194,896 square miles / 504,900 square km
• Population: 41,280,800
• Language: Spanish
• Currency: Euro (EUR)
• Country dialling code: +34
• Religion: Roman Catholic
• Electricity: 220 volts, 50 Hz - round two-pin plugs are used

Map of Spain

Climate

Due to Spain's geographical situation and orographic conditions, the climate is extremely diverse; discounting the mountain climate, it can be roughly divided into five areas:

Spanish climatic areas (Canary Islands subtropical climate is not represented in this map).

A Continental Mediterranean climate in the inland areas of the Peninsula (largest city, Madrid).

An Oceanic climate in Galicia and the coastal strip near the Bay of Biscay or (largest city, Bilbao). This area is often called Green Spain.

A Semiarid climate or arid Mediterranean in the southeast (largest city, Murcia).

A Mediterranean climate region extends from the Andalusian plain along the southern and eastern coasts up to the Pyrenees, on the seaward side of the mountain ranges that run near the coast. Also in Ceuta and Melilla (largest city, Barcelona). Localized Subtropical climate areas exist in the coasts of Granada and Malaga (Costa Tropical).

A Subtropical climate in the Canary Islands (largest city, Las Palmas).