The geography of Spain and the Iberian Peninsula is rich in all aspects, whether studied as a whole or as individual regions. The different cultures in Spain have a geographic reason for being. During this course students will see the connection between the Spain's holography and its special characters and stereotypes.

CONTENT

Physical geography

1. Introduction: The Iberian Peninsula within the Mediterranean region

1.1. Shape, extension and situation of the Iberian Peninsula

1.2. Spain within the temperate belt

2. Geo-morphological description of Spain (1): general structure of the Iberian Peninsula and main stages of the geological evolution

2.1. The three main divisions of the peninsular relief

2.2. Main stages in the geological evolution of the Iberian Peninsula

3. Geo-morphological description of Spain (2): The Central Meseta and its borders

3.1. General characteristics of the Meseta

3.2. Interior mountain ranges and depressions

3.3. The borders of the Meseta

4. Geo-morphological description of Spain (3): The external mountains and the archipelagos

4.1. External mountain ranges: The Pyrenees, the Catalan Coastal Mountains and Sierra Nevada

4.2. The Ebro depression and the Guadalquivir depression

4.3. The Spanish Archipelagos: Balearic and Canary Islands

5. The climates and the weather in Spain

5.1. Meteorological components

5.2. Types of climate in Spain

6. Water, a scarce resource: hydrology of the Iberian Peninsula

6.1. Spanish rivers

6.2. Lakes in the Iberian Peninsula

7. Vegetation: humid Spain and dry Spain

7.1. Main determinant of the vegetation in Spain

7.2. The three main phyto-geographic regions

 Human geography

8. Agriculture and Fishing

8.1. Trends and spatial characteristics of the Spanish agriculture

8.2. Farming in Spain

8.3. The importance of fishing: Spain, a European leader

9. Industry and Energy

9.1. The Spanish industry: Birth, crisis and restructuring

9.2. Main sectors and regions in Spanish industry

9.3. Energy and mining

10. Services sector and transport

10.1. Tertiary activities in Spain

10.2. The importance of trade

10.3. Transport networks in Spain

11. The current "locomotives" of the Spanish economy: tourism and construction

11.1. History and present development of the Tourist sector

11.2. Emergence and boom of the construction sector in Spain

12. Demography of Spain (1): growth and structure of the Spanish population

12.1. Growth of the Spanish population: main determinants

12.2. The Spanish pyramid: structure by age and sex

13. Demography of Spain (2): the components of natural growth

13.1. Mortality

13.2. Fertility

13.3. Marriage and divorce

14. Demography of Spain (3): from an emigration country to an immigration one

14.1. Historical trends

14.2.Current characteristics: main nationalities emigrating to Spain

15. The distribution of the Spanish population: rural and urban areas

15.1. Internal migration flows: from rural exodus to sub-urbanization

15.2. Current rural and urban division: population density

15.3. The urban network

16. Political geography: from provinces to Autonomous Communities

16.1. Historical political divisions of Spain

16.2. The Autonomous Communities and Autonomous Cities