Much of South America still speaks Spanish or Portuguese as their primary language. The colonies gained independence in the 1800's with the help of leaders such as Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin. In the 1500's, Spain and Portugal colonized much of South America. It built the beautiful mountain city of Machu Picchu which is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. The Incan Civilization was a powerful empire that ruled much of western South America. The Amazon rainforest is one of the world's most important natural resources and provides around six percent of the world's oxygen. The geography of South America is dominated by the Andes Mountain Range and the Amazon River (second longest river in the world). It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is located primarily in the southern hemisphere. Madrid functions as an important financial hub of Southern Europe.South America is the fourth largest continent in size and the fifth largest in population. Madrid is also the cultural, administrative and economic center of Spain. Located in the central part of the country is, Madrid – the capital, the largest and the most populous city of Spain. Spain has a population of over 47 million, making it the 6 th most populous country in Europe and the 4 th most populous country in EU. It is also the 2 nd largest country in Western Europe and EU. km, Spain is the largest country in Southern Europe and the 4 th largest country in the continent of Europe.
The autonomous communities are further subdivided into provinces and smaller subdivisions. The 2 autonomous cities are: Ceuta and Melilla. The autonomous communities are: Andalusia, Catalonia (Catalan), Madrid, Comunitat Valenciana, Galicia, Castilla-Leon, Euskadi (Basque), Castilla-La Mancha, Canarias (Canary Islands), Murcia, Aragon, Extremadura, Illes Baleares (Balearic Islands), Asturias, Navarre (Castilian), Cantabria, and La Rioja. comunidad autonoma) and 2 autonomous cities ( ciudades autonomas, sing. Spain (officially, the Kingdom of Spain) is divided into 17 autonomous communities ( comunidades autonomas, sing. The longest and most significant rivers include the Douro ( Duero), Ebro, Jucar, Tagus ( Tejo), Guadiana and Guadalquivir. The country is drained by an estimated 1,500 rivers ( mostly small). In the far south, the Strait of Gibraltar separates Spain and Europe from Morocco (Africa), and here, the two continents are only 13 km (8 miles) apart. In the far northwest, along the Bay of Biscay, rugged cliffs front the coastline. Those deeply indented coastal areas include countless bays and coves, and most have sandy beaches. In addition, much of Spain is fronted by a low and narrow coastal plain, one that separates the mountains from the sea. Significant lowlands include the fertile Andalusian Plain in the southwest, and the Ebro River Basin in the northeast. It has been marked on the map by a yellow triangle. Mainland Spain's highest point ( Mulhacen at 3,481 meters) stands in the Sierra Nevada. In the far south the mountains of the Cordillera Betica and Sierra Nevada dominate the landscape. Significant mountains in Spain include the limestone Cordillera Cantabrica and rugged Sistema Iberico ( north) massive Pyrenees ( northeast) where many peaks exceed 3,000 meters the deeply eroded and rocky Sierra de Cuenca( east), and the lower Montes de Toledo and Serrania de Cuenca ( south-central). In the west the Meseta slopes gently down into neighboring Portugal. That plateau is rarely flat, and is in reality a mostly hilly highland area divided by the Cordillera Central ( mountains), and then ringed by additional mountain ranges, north, east and south.
Occupying most of the Iberian Peninsula's land area ( approximately 85%), Spain is the third-largest country in Europe and 45% is covered by the Meseta Plateau.Īs observed on the physical map of Spain, the terrain of the land is highly undulating.
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