Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 14.djvu/196

 SPAIN

170

SPAIN

Burface of the Peninsula is, in general, of an uneven character with a very unequally distributed irriga- tion, some regions enjoying a wonderful fertihty, while others are nothing but steppes. In other parts, again, the abrupt slope of the ground is such that the rains produce torrential floods in the rivers and thus negative their beneficial action. The unevenness of the country at the same time results in great differ- ences of chmate. The arid prairies of certain parts of the Castiles and Estremadura are in as striking contrast with the fertile, though monotonous, plains of the Campos district and Lower Aragon, and the extremely rich arable lands and meadows of Anda- lusia and the eastern provinces, as are the perpetual snows of the Pyrenees, the Cantabrian Range, and the Sierra Nevada with the parched lowlands of Estre- madura, Andalusia, Murcia, and Alicante. No less uneven is the distribution of rainfall — from the north- ern provinces, with their ever-clouded skies, to the almost invariably dry and transparent atmosphere of the south. The contrast extends even to the seas surrounding Spain — the tr.anquil Mediterranean, the stormy Bay of Biscay, and the Atlantic with a char- acter midway between.

The general structural form of the Peninsula is somewhat that of a truncated pyramid, sloping abruptly towards the west, but gently towards the east. The elevated plains of the centre are inter- sected by mountain ranges. The mountain masses may be divided into six groups: (1) the northern, consisting of the Pyrenees on the east and the Canta- brian Range on the west, and terminated by Capes Creus and Finisterre; (2) the Iberic, or eastern, com- prising the mountains which bound the basin of the Ebro and extend as far as Cape Gata; (3) the central system, the Carpetan, or Carpeto-Vetonic, Range, so called from the Carpetani and Vetones who inhabited its slopes in ancient times; (4) the Moimtains of To- ledo, or Cordillera Oretana; (5) the Betic system, or Cordillera Maridnica, forming the right-hand side of the basin of the Betis, or Guadalquivir, and the chief part of which is the Sierra Morena; (6) the Penibetic system, extending from the Sierra Ne\-ada to Cape Tarifa. The highest elevations are: Maladeta (11,004 ft.) and Pico de Nethou (11,168 ft.), in the Pyrenees; Pena de Cerredo (8784 ft.), and Moncayo (7593 ft.), in the Cantabrian Range; Plaza del Moro Almanzor (8692 ft.), in the Carpetan Range; the plateau of Corocho de Rocigalgo (4750 ft.), in the Toledo Moun- tains; Estrella (4260 ft.), in the Betic Range; Mul- hacen (11,417 ft.) and Veleta (11,382 ft.) in the Peni- betic.

For hydrographic purposes the surface of Spain is divided by the Institute Geogrdfico into the follow- ing ten basins: (1) the Eastern Pyrenees, basin of the Rivers Muga, Fluvia, Ter, Tordeva, Bes6s, Llobregat, Foix, and Francoli; (2) the basin of the Ebro, to the south and west of the preceding, containing the Nela, Zadorra, Ega, Arga, Arag6n, Arba, Gallego, Cinea, and Segre, affluents of the Ebro, on its right side, and the Oca, Tiron, Oja, Najerilla, Iregua, Alhama, Jal6n, Huerva, Aguas, Martin, Guadalope, Matarrana, and other smaller affluents on its left; the south-eastern region, watered by the Cenia, Migares, Palancia, Turia (or Guadalaviar), Jucar, Serpis, Vinalop6, Segura, and .\lmanzora; (4) the southern region, inter- sected by small streams, the most important rivers being the Almerla, .\dra, Guadalfeo, Guadalhorce, Guadiaro, and Guadalete; (5) the basin of the Guad- alcjuivir, the affluents of which are, on the right, the Rivers Borosa, Guadalimar, Rumblar, Jdndula, Yeg- uas, Guadamellato, Guadiato, the Brook of Hucsna, the River Viar, and the Brooks of Cala, Huelva, and Guadiamar, and on the left, the Guadiana Menor, Genii, ('.uadabull6n, Guadajoz, Corbones, Guadaira, and SaliKlo do Mor6n; (6) the basin of the Guadiana, with its tributaries, the Zdncara, or Ciguela, Dullaque,

and Gevora, on the right, and the Javal6n, Zujar, Ardila, and Chanza, on the left; (7) the basin of the Tagus, which river rises in the Province of Teruel, in the Sierra de Molina, and receives, on the right, the Gallo, Jarama, Guadarrama, Alberche, Tietar, Alag6n, and Eljas, and, on the left, besides other streams of slight importance, the Guadiela and the Almonte. The Jarama, in its turn, receives the Lozoya, Guadalix, Manzanares (which flows by Madrid), Henares, and Tajuiia; (8) the basin of the Douro, which rises in the Pena (Rock) Urbi6n, in the Province of Logrono, 7216 feet above the sea level. The chief affluents of the Douro are, on the right, the Pisuerga and the Esla, and on the left, the Eresma and the Tormes. The Pisuerga, again, re- ceives, on the right, the Burejo, Vallarna, Astudillo, and Carri6n, and on the left, the Camesa, Odra, Ar- lanz6n, Baltands, and Esgueva. Affluents of the Esla, on the right, are the Curuefio, Bernesga, Orbigo, Tera, and Ahste, and on the left, the Cea. (9) The western region of Gahcia, the chief rivers of which are the Miiio, Oitaben, Lerez, Umia, UUa, Tambre, Jallas, Castro, Rio del Puerto, .\llones, Mero, Mandeo, Lume, Jubia, Rio de Porto do Cabo, Mera, and Sor. (10) The northern basin, containing the Eo, Navia Nal6n, and Sella, in the Asturias; the Deba, Nansa, Besaya, Mas, and Miera, in Santander; the Nervi6n, Oria, and Bidasoa, in the Basque countn,-. The only important lakes in Spain are the lagoons: those of Gallocanta, in Aragon; the Alfaques, in Catalonia; the Albufera, in Valencia, and, in Cadiz, that of Janda, the scene of the battle which has been generally known as the battle of Guadalete, which put an end to the power of the Goths.

Silver, lead, and iron are abundant, the last espe- cially in Biscay. Veins of quicksilver are found in Almaden, besides others of less importance elsewhere. There are also copper, tin, zinc, gold, cobalt, nickel, antimony, bismuth, and molybdenum. Spain is not rich in coal, which, however, is found in the Provinces of Gerona, Lerida, Santander, Asturias, Le6n, Pa- lencia, Burgos, Guadalajara, Cuenca, Ciudad Real, Badajoz, Cordova, and Seville. The most important carboniferous deposits are those of S. Juan de las Abadesas (Gerona), Mieres (Asturias), Barruelo and Orb6 (Palencia), PuertoUano (Ciudad Real), B^lmez and Espiel (Cordova), and Villanueva del Rio (Sev- ille). There are also deposits of anthracite, hgnite, asphalt, and turf, while springs of petroleum, though not of any importance, exist in Barcelona, Burgos, Cadiz, and Guadalajara. On the other hand, sulphur is abundant, as well as common salt, and waters im- pregnated with sulphates and with sulphur.

The botanical resources are abundant and various — the chestnut, the oak, the cork tree, the pine, and a number of other conifers. Castile produces a great quantity of cereals; Valencia, rice, oranges, lemons, chufas (the tuber of a variety of sedge), melons, and other fruits in immense variety; Catalonia, potatoes, oil, figs, filberts, carobs, pomegranates, alfalfa; Mur- cia, peppers, dates, saffron etc.; .\ndalusia, oil; Estre- madura, pasturage etc. Excellent wines are produced in nearly all the provinces, the most highly esteemed being those of Jerez, Malaga, Montilla (.\ndalusia), Carinena (.\ragon), Valdepeiias, Rioja etc. The soil of Spain is apportioned agriculturally as follows:

Acres.

Market gardens 391,128

Orchards 704,522

Grain 32,014,934

Vineyards 3.480,816

Olive groves 2,001,705

Meadows 1,803,809

Pasturage 6.307,100

Highways and woods 207,767

Mountain 11,608,197

Untilled. but fit for grazing 8,264,063

Waste 4,024.770

Total 70,808,SU