Spain

THE COUNTRY OF Spain lies on the Iberian Peninsula on the Mediterranean and Atlantic and is separated from Europe by the Pyrenees Mountains. The central plateau is drained by three rivers. Special geographic features include two sets of archipelagos, with the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic off the coast of Africa. Spain has a variety of ecosystems: snowcapped peaks in the Pyrenees, green meadows in Galicia, orange groves in Valencia, and desert in Aimeria. The Partido Socialista Obrero Espanol government set aside more than 400 protected areas covering 15,444 sq. mi. (40,000 sq. km.) and protecting a broad range of ecosystems including mountains, wetlands, islands, wood and forest, and volcanic landscapes.

With extremes in temperature and low rainfall, water ...