Location:
Southwestern Europe, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, Bay of Biscay, and Pyrenees Mountains; southwest of France
Geographic coordinates:
40 00 N, 4 00 W
Map references:
Europe
Area:
Area - comparative: Land boundaries:
Coastline: Maritime claims:
Climate: Terrain: Elevation extremes:
Natural resources: Land use:
Irrigated land: Total renewable water resources: Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
Natural hazards: Environment - current issues: Environment - international agreements:
Geography - note:
total:
505,370 sq km
country comparison to the world: 52
land:
498,980 sq km
water:
6,390 sq km
note:
there are two autonomous cities - Ceuta and Melilla - and 17 autonomous communities including Balearic Islands and Canary Islands, and three small Spanish possessions off the coast of Morocco - Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera
Area comparison map:
total:
1,920.4 km
border countries:
Andorra 63.7 km, France 623 km, Gibraltar 1.2 km, Portugal 1,214 km, Morocco (Ceuta) 8 km, Morocco (Melilla) 10.5 km
note:
an additional 75-meter border segment exists between Morocco and the Spanish exclave of Penon de Velez de la Gomera
[see also: Land boundaries country ranks ]
4,964 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]
territorial sea:
12 nm
contiguous zone:
24 nm
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm (applies only to the Atlantic Ocean)
temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast
More Climate Details
large, flat to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills; Pyrenees Mountains in north
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point:
Pico de Teide (Tenerife) on Canary Islands 3,718 m
coal, lignite, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, uranium, tungsten, mercury, pyrites, magnesite, fluorspar, gypsum, sepiolite, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land
arable land:
24.75%
permanent crops:
9.29%
other:
65.96% (2011)
34,700 sq km (2011)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]
111.5 cu km (2011)
[see also: Total renewable water resources country ranks ]
total:
32.46 cu km/yr (18%/22%/61%)
per capita:
698.7 cu m/yr (2008)
periodic droughts, occasional flooding
volcanism:
volcanic activity in the Canary Islands, located off Africa's northwest coast; Teide (elev. 3,715 m) has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; La Palma (elev. 2,426 m), which last erupted in 1971, is the most active of the Canary Islands volcanoes; Lanzarote is the only other historically active volcano
pollution of the Mediterranean Sea from raw sewage and effluents from the offshore production of oil and gas; water quality and quantity nationwide; air pollution; deforestation; desertification
party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified:
Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants
strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar; Spain controls a number of territories in northern Morocco including the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, and the islands of Penon de Velez de la Gomera, Penon de Alhucemas, and Islas Chafarinas