 | |
| Continent | Europe |
|---|---|
| Region | Southern Europe North Africa Iberian Peninsula Macaronesia |
| Borders | 1,917.8 km (1,191.7 mi) Portugal: 1,214 km (754 mi) France: 623 km (387 mi) Andorra: 63.7 km (39.6 mi) Morocco (Melilla): 9.6 km (5.97 mi) Morocco (Ceuta): 6.3 km (3.91 mi) Gibraltar: 1.2 km (0.75 mi) |
| Highest point | Teide (Canary Islands) 3,715 m (12,188 ft) Mulhacén (Iberian Peninsula) 3,477 m (11,407 ft) |
| Lowest point | Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea 0 m (0 ft) (Sea level) |
| Longest river | Tagus |
| Largest lake | Lago de Sanabria |
| Exclusive economic zone | 1,039,233 km2 (401,250 sq mi) |
Spain is a country located in southwestern Europe occupying most (about 82 percent) of the Iberian Peninsula. It also includes a small exclave inside France called Llívia, as well as the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean 108 km (67 mi) off northwest Africa, and five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberanía) on and off the coast of North Africa: Ceuta, Melilla, Islas Chafarinas, Peñón de Alhucemas, and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera.
The Spanish mainland is bordered to the south and east almost entirely by the Mediterranean Sea (except for the small British territory of Gibraltar); to the north by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal. With a land area of 504,782 square kilometres (194,897 sq mi) in the Iberian peninsula,[1] Spain is the largest country in Southern Europe, the second largest country in Western Europe (behind France), and the fourth largest country in the European continent (behind Russia, Ukraine, and France). It has an average altitude of 650 m.
Its total area including Spanish island territories is 505,370 km2 (195,124 sq mi) of which 499,542 km2 (192,874 sq mi) is land and 5,240 km2 (2,023 sq mi) is water.[2] It has the 30th largest Exclusive Economic Zone of 1,039,233 km2 (401,250 sq mi). Spain lies between latitudes 27° and 44° N, and longitudes 19° W and 5° E. Its Atlantic coast is 710 km (441 mi) long. The Pyrenees mountain range extends 435 km (270 mi) from the Mediterranean to the Bay of Biscay. In the extreme south of Spain's mainland lie the Straits of Gibraltar, which separate the Iberian peninsula and the rest of Europe from Ceuta and Morocco in North Africa.
- ^ Eur (30 November 2002). Western Europe 2003. Psychology Press. p. 559. ISBN 978-1-85743-152-0.
- ^ "Spain". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2008.