Fundamentals: Geography and climate

Question 1

What percentage of the Iberian peninsula does Spain occupy?

Answer 1

85%

Question 2

Among European countries, where does Spain rank for:
largest land area
most mountainous
highest elevation
…and where does Madrid rank for highest capitals

Answer 2

3rd largest
3rd most mountainous
2nd highest

2nd highest capital

Question 3

Name the principal mountain ranges in Spain

Answer 3

Cordillera Cantábrica
Pirineos
Sistema Ibérico
Sistema Central
Sierra Morena
Sistema Bético
Las Islas Canarias

Question 4

Which mountains are at the western end of the Cordillera Cantábrica?

Answer 4

Macizo Galaico

Question 5

In which mountain range are the Picos de Europa, home to some of the world’s deepest caves?

Answer 5

Cordillera Cantábrica

Question 6

Which two areas are separated by the Sistema Ibérico?

Answer 6

Meseta
El Valle del Ebro

Question 7

Which two primary mountain ranges exist within the Sistema Central? Name the highest peak, and the range it’s in.

Answer 7

Sierra de Guadarrama

Sierra de Gredos (Pico Almanzor 2,591m)

Question 8

Name the mountain range in Cataluña

Answer 8

Cordilleras Costero-Catalanas

Question 9

Where are the Montes de Toledo, and which rivers do they separate?

Answer 9

Meseta
Tajo and Guadiana

Question 10

Which primary mountain range forms Las Islas Baleares?

Answer 10

Sistema Bético

Question 11

How does the Sistema Bético subdivide into four mountain ranges? Highest peak?

Answer 11

Prebética

Subbética

Penibética
contains Sierra Nevada
which contains Mulhacén 3,479m (highest in mainland Spain)

Question 12

Highest peak in Spain? Where?

Answer 12

Pico del Teide 3,718m
Tenerife

Question 13

Name the two significant lowland areas in Spain, and the mountain ranges that surround them

Answer 13

Ebro Basin
Cordillera Cantábrica, Pirineos, Sistema Ibérico

Andalusian Plain
Sierra Morena, Sistema Bético

Question 14

Spain is surrounded by which primary bodies of water?

Answer 14

Bay of Biscay
Atlantic Ocean
Mediterranean Sea (with Balearic Sea)

Question 15

Roughly how many rivers are there in Spain? Name the five biggest, starting with the longest, and where they drain to.

Answer 15

1,800

Tajo/Tagus
Ebro
Duero
Guadiana
Guadalquivir

All drain to the Atlantic, except the Ebro.

Question 16

Which of Spain’s five biggest rivers:
provide hydroelectric power?
is used mainly for irrigation?
is the longest entirely within Spain?
flows through Toledo?
has the largest drainage basin?

Answer 16

Tajo, Duero
Guadiana
Ebro
Tajo
Ebro

Question 17

What are the three main soil categories in Spain?

Answer 17

Volcanic (igneous)
Metamorphic
Sedimentary

Question 18

According to the book, which rock types metamorphose into shale, slate and schist?

Answer 18

clay, mud, and basalt

Question 19

Which mountain ranges in Spain are the main areas for metamorphic rock?

Answer 19

north near Cordillera Cantábrica, Sistema Ibérico, Cordilleras Costero-Catalanas

Question 20

Which metamorphic rock is famous in Priorat? What kind of rock is it?

Answer 20

llicorella
Decomposed Devonian and Carboniferous slate/shale with low organic content

Question 21

How is sedimentary rock formed?

Answer 21

Water or wind deposits, or sedimentation in large bodies of water

Question 22

Limestone, and its variant chalk, are ideal for high quality wines from which red grape?

Answer 22

Tempranillo

Question 23

Which geographical features in Spain are most associated with sedimentary soils?

Answer 23

Coastline
Meseta
Islas Baleares

Question 24

Where is Spain is famous for a unique type of chalk? What is it called?

Answer 24

Andalucía
albariza

Question 25

Volcanic rock:
is poor in what?
rich in what?
holds what?
produces wines with pronounced what?

Answer 25

poor in organic matter
rich in carbonates, sulphates
holds air, water
pronounced aromatics

Question 26

Names an area in Spain where you find a lot of:
volcanic soil
granite

Answer 26

Las Islas Canarias
Rías Baixas

Question 27

What are the three main climatic zones in mainland Spain, and where are they?

Answer 27

maritime (N: Green Spain)
continental (central Spain, Meseta)
Mediterranean (the coast from Andalucía to Cataluña)

Question 28

Which climatic zone in Spain has the:
lowest diurnal and seasonal temperature range?
coldest winters?
lowest rainfall?
irregular rainfall?
autumn frost?

Answer 28

maritime
continental
mediterranean
continental
continental

Question 29

What are the climates of the islands?

Answer 29

Las Islas Baleares: Mediterranean
Las Islas Canarias: subtropical

Question 30

When are the usual rainy seasons in the Meseta? Which is heavier in the northern Meseta?

Answer 30

spring and autumn
spring in the north
autumn in the south
(but irregular and unpredictable)

Question 31

Why is Tempranillo suited to the continental climate of the Meseta?

Answer 31

Early ripening, reduced risk of damage from autumn frost

Question 32

Which part of Spain’s dry Mediterranean climate zone has the most rainfall?

Answer 32

The northern areas including Cataluña

Question 33

Which part of Spain’s Mediterranean climate zone is affected by the Leveche wind? Describe the wind.

Answer 33

Central part (Valencia and Alicante).
Hot, dry, dusty, from North Africa

Question 34

Rain on the Andalusian Plain can cause what?

Answer 34

Flash floods (it falls in one to two days)