RELIEF IN SPAIN AND CASTILLA-LA MANCHA Relief in Spain. The Plateau. Mountain chains and depressions in the Peninsula. Relief on the coasts and islands.
Forms of relief in Spain The territory of Spain is made up mostly of the Iberian Peninsula. It also has the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla in northern Africa. Relief is set of landforms that are in a territory. The relief in Spain is varied. Its main landforms are: Mountains are big elevations of land. Many mountains together are called a mountain range and many mountain ranges together are called a mountain chain. Plains are large areas of flat land. Plateaus are areas of flat land that are high above sea level. Valleys and natural depressions are low, flat areas between mountains. The central part of the Peninsula is a large plateau. Coasts are areas in contact with the sea.
Relief of the Plateau The Central Plateau covers much of the interior of the Peninsula. It is a high plain, which is between 500 and 800 metres high. There are two mountain chains inside the Plateau: The Central Chain is a large chain made up of the mountain ranges Gata, Gredos, Guadarrama and Ayllón. Its tallest point is Almanzor, which is 2,591 metres high. It belongs to the Gredos Mountain Range. The Toledo Mountains is a chain of low mountain ranges, like the Rocigalgo, San Pedro and Guadalupe. The highest mountain in this chain is Las Villuercas, which is 1,601 metres high. The Central Chain divides the Plateau into two sub-plateaus: the North Sub-plateau, with lots of flat terrain, like the Duero valley; and the South Sub-plateau, which has the Toledo Mountains, the Tajo and Guadiana valleys and the La Mancha and Campo de Calatrava plains.
Mountain chains around the Plateau The plateau is surrounded by mountain chains: The León Mountains are to the north-east of the Plateau. Its most important peak is the Telero, reaching 2,188 metres high. The Cantabrian Chain to the north is made up of high mountain ranges near the coast, like the Peaks of Europe, whose highest peak is Torre Cerredo at 2,648 metres. The Iberian Chain separates the Plateau from the Ebro valley. Its major mountain ranges are the Urbión Peaks and the Albarracín and Moncayo ranges. Its main peak is Moncayo at 2,313 metres high. Morena Range in the south separates the Plateau from the Guadalquivir valley, where we can find the Madrona Range with its Bañuela Peak reaching 1,323 metres.
Mountain chains outside the Plateau There are mountain chains outside the Plateau: The Galician Massif, to the north-east, is made up of rounded mountain ranges, like the Manzaneda. Its highest peak is Cabeza de Manzaneda at 1,778 metres. The Basque Mountains unite the Cantabrian Chain to the Pyrenees. In its mountains, there is the Aizkorri Massif with Aitxuri Peak reaching 1,551 metres. The Pyrenees in the north form the border with France, It is a large mountain chain with mountains over three thousand metres high, like Aneto Peak, at 3,404 metres, Mount Posets and Monte Perdido. The Catalonian Coastal Chain, to the north-east, is made up of mountains near the coast, like Montserrat and Montseny, with Turó de l Home at 1,712 metres high. The Baetic Chain, to the south, is made up of two mountain chains. The Penibaetic Chain, has Nevada Range, which has Mulhacén, the highest peak of the Peninsula at 3,479 metres high. The Subaetic Chain has the Segura Range with La Sagra Peak reaching 2,382 metres. Natural depressions Natural depressions are low plains between high mountains. They usually appear in the valleys of some rivers. There are two major depressions between the chains around the Plateau of the Iberian Peninsula and the mountain chains outside it: The Ebro Depression. It is in the north-east of the Peninsula. It is surrounded by the Pyrenees, the Catalonian Coastal Chain and the Iberian Chain. The Guadalquivir Depression. It is in the south-west, between the Morena Range, the Baetic Chain and the Atlantic coast.