SPANISH COASTS

Spain has more than 6,000 kilometres of coastline in the peninsula.

There are five types of coast.

- The Cantabrian coast has rocky cliffs, estuaries and gulfs.

- The Atlantic coast is very varied. In the northwest, it is high and rocky. There are many estuaries.
   In the south, it is low-lying and sandy.

- The Mediterranean coast is low-lying and sandy. There are many long beaches.

- The coastline in the Canary Islands varies greatly.

- In the Balearic Islands, high coasts alternate with long beaches.

ACTIVITY " SPANISH COASTS"

ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS

1. How long is the Spanish coastline?
2. How many types of coast are there?
3. What is the coast in the north called?
4. Which coast is very varied?
5. Which coast is low-lying and sandy?
6. Which islands have coastlines?

THE COAST

The coast is the place where the land meets the sea.

There are two types of coast:

- Low-lying coasts are plains by the sea.They often have sandy beaches.

- High coasts are mountains or high areas by the sea. They often have rocky cliffs.

TYPES OF COASTLINE

Coastlines have different shapes.

- A cape is land which extends into the sea.

- A gulf is a place where the sea extends into the land.

- A peninsula is land which is almost completely surrounded by water.

- An island is land which is completely surrounded by water.

- An archipelago is a group of islands.

- An estuary is the part of a river which opens into the sea.

- A marsh is wet land near the mouth of a river.

ACTIVITY "THE COAST"

MATCH AND THEN WRITE THE SENTENCES

1. The coast is the place                             a. which opens into the sea.
2. A cape is land which                              b. extends into the sea.
3. A gulf is a place                                     c. where the land meets the sea.
4. A peninsula is land which                       d. which is completely surrounded by water.
5. An island is land                                     e. where the sea extends into the land.
6. An archipelago is                                   f. is almost completely surrounded by water.
7. An estuary is the part of a river               g. a group of islands.
8. A marsh is wet land                               h. near the mouth of a river.

MOUNTAINS AND PLAINS IN SPAIN

The Iberian peninsula has many different landscapes. The map shows the mountains and plains.

Central Spain is dominated by a large plateau, called the Central Plateau.

This is divided into two parts by the Central Mountain Chain.

There are mountains to the north, east and south of the Central Plateau:

- The Pyrenees is a mountain chain to the north of the Central Plateau.
- The Betic Chain is a mountain chain to the south of the Central Plateau.

The highest peaks on the peninsula are in these chains.

The Iberian peninsula has narrow coastal plains.

There are two extensive depressions:

- The Ebro depression is in the north.
- The Guadalquivir depression is in the south.

ACTIVITY " MOUNTAINS AND PLAINS IN SPAIN"

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

1. Which countries make up the Iberian peninsula?
2. What is the highest mountain in Spain? Where is it?
3. Where are the Pyrenees?
4. Which mountains divide the Central Plateau into two parts?
5. Where are the highest peaks on the Iberian Peninsula?
6. Where is the Betic mountain chain?
7. Where is the Ebro depression?
8 Where is the Guadalquivir depression?

THE LANDSCAPE

All the different features of the Earth´s surface make up the landscape.

There are high mountains in some areas. There is low flat land in other areas.

There are mountain landscapes, flat landscapes and coastal landscapes.

MOUNTAINS

Mountain landscapes are made up of mountains and valleys.

- Mountains are raised parts of the Earth´s surface. Hills have a lower altitude than mountains. ( Altitude is the height of something above sea level, or the Earth´s surface).

- Several mountains grouped together are called a mountain range. A long line of mountain ranges is called a mountain chain.

- Valleys are low areas between mountains. Rivers are often found in valleys.

PLAINS

Plains are large areas of flat land with no hills or slopes.

A plateau is a plain at a high altitude.

Depressions are plains which are lower than the surrounding land.

Coastal plains are flat land near the coast.

ACTIVITY "THE LANDSCAPE"

COPY THE SENTENCES AND COMPLETE THEM WITH THE CORRECT WORD

FLAT   CHAIN   FEATURES  PLATEAU    ALTITUDE    LOW

1.Valleys and mountains are .......of the landscape.
2. Hills have a lower .... than mountains.
3. A mountain ..... is a long line of mountain ranges.
4. Valleys are ..... areas between mountains.
5. Plains are large areas of  ..... land.
6. A .... is a plain at a high altitude.