Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/447

* SPAIN. 383 SPAIN. rapid rivers, and communication across the sier- ras from valley to valley is dillieult. The lony unbroken chain of the Pyrenees forms a mighty barrier on the side of France. They form a wall of exclusion over which no highways have been built, the mountains being circumvented only by roads at their extreme ends. The highest peak of the Pyrenees (which is situated on the Spanish side of the boundary) is the Pico de Aneto (Pic d'Ancthou), whose summit is al)out 11.100 feet above the sea. The Sierra Nevada, in the extreme .south, close to the coast, attains an elevation of 11,420 feet, in Jlulahaccn, the liighest mountain in Kurope (re- garding the Caucasus as not belonging to Europe) outside of the Alps. The alternation of mountain and river valley in Spain is very conspicuous — first the Canta- brian Mountains and the Duero River in the north; then in succession the Guadarrama Jloun- tains and the Tagus, the Toledo Jlountains and the Guadiana, the Sierra Jlorena and the Guadal- quivir, with the Nevada Jlountains, in the south. The coast throughout nearly its whole extent is bordered by mountains, giving it a very rugged character, and there are few openings that may be converted into good harbors. The coasts are further impaired for shipping by dangerous cur- rents whicii tend to tlirnw vessels on the shore. Barcelona has the only really first-class harbor. Spain contains two great low plains. One is the plain of Aragon in the northeast, through which flows the Ebro, which drains the greater part of Northeastern Spain. This plain extends between the Pyrenees and the Ilierian Mofintains, and is walled in from the Mediterranean by the C'atalonian Mountains. The other is the Anda- lusian plain in the southwest, traversed by the Guadalquivir River and extending between the Sierra Morena and the Sierra Nevada. These plains, like the narrow and comparatively short coastal plains, are among the most fertile regions of Europe, but are of small extent compared with the wide-spreading tableland. Hydrogr.piiy. All the long rivers, excepting the Ebro, empty into the Atlantic, as the main water parting is nearer to the Mediterranean than to the ocean. Most of the rivers are for the greater part of the year very deficient in water and not navigable, and. therefore, of small value for shipping. They lie too far below the gen- eral level to be of much use even for irrigation. The Miiio, Duero, Guadiana, and Tagus are not navigable in Spain, though they are useful for commerce to .some extent in Portugal. Of the 800 miles of waterways in Spain only 300 miles are available the year around. The Guadalquivir, which flows through a part of the Andalusian plain, is the deepest river in Spain; vessels as- cend it as far as Seville, and small boats reach Cordova. It draws most of its water supply from the high mountains of Andalusia. The Mifio and Duero flow across the plateau of Old Castile; the Tagus, the longest of the rivers, courses through New Castile. These rivers with the Guadiana flow in deep rocky valleys. The Ebro reaches the Mediterranean through a tor- tuous gorge. With its largest tributaries, which bring much water from the slopes of the Canta- brian Mountains and the Pyrenees, it is of great value for irrigating the fertile low lands of Aragon. There are no important lakes, the small lake of Albufera, near Valencia, being the largest. Climate and Soil. Spain has almost a con- tinental climate notwithstanding the great length of its coast line. The range of temperature be- tween summer and winter and the diurnal varia- tions are great and rapid. Spain has often been misconceived as n land of eternal spring, in which groves of olives and oranges thrive. The climatic conditions adapted for these fruits are found, however, only in the coast districts, ami in. da- lusia, in the extreme south, and Galieia in the northw-est. The summers of the tableland are so hot that nearly all the rivers are dried up and the earth becomes so parched and unproductive that whole villages are sometimes compelled to migrate. The nearness to the Sahara, across the narrow Mediterranean, ex- poses the southern part of the country to in- tense heat. On the other hand, the height of the tableland causes the winter temperature to be low. At Madrid, in the centre of the peninsula, there is often skating in winter, although in sum- mer the temperature may rise to 107° F. in the shade, making the climate of Sladrid the most extreme in Western Europe. On the southern coast, by contrast, the mean temperature in .Janu- ary is 55°, and frost and snow are extremely rare. The mean temperature at JIalaga, on the south coast, is in summer 77° and in winler 57°; at Barcelona, in the northeast, on the Mediterra- nean, the summer and winter means are respec- tively 77° and 50°, and at Madrid, in the centre, 75° and 44.6°. The climate is also one of the driest in Europe., and has been made still drier by the destruction of the forests. The rainfall is very small, only 8 to 12 inches per annum in the inferior. The evil of deficient precipitation is increased bj' the fact that, as in all Mediterra- nean lands, the largest rainfall is in the winter months after the growing season. Irrigation is, therefore, the basis of agriculture. The soils need only moisture to make them very fertile. The hot south wind of Andalusia, known as the Solano, and the cold north wind, called the Gal- lego, are peculiar to Spain. Flor.. The vegetation is that of Central Eu- rope. It is, however, very monotonous on the whole, for the number of plants capable of sup- porting great extremes of temperature is natu- rally limited. Herbs and shrubs predominate on the plateau, but a greater variety of plants is found in ascending from the plains to the moun- tain summits. Woods are met with only on the slopes of the mountains, where chestnut trees and oaks of various species occupy the lower zone and conifers extend to the tree limit. The elm is found in many river valleys, and is planted with success in some cities. The poplar is one of the cultivated trees, and the beech forms large forests on some of the moimtain slopes. The vine flour- ishes on stony soil, and the olive tree is an im- portant element in the national wealth. The cork tree, from which the bark mav be stripped every ten years, is found in Granada and south- west of the Pyrenees, and also in various other districts. Esparto, or alfa, and rushes, largely used for baskets and mats, are grown on the coast and in the interior: sugar cane is culti- vated in Andalusia and Valencia ; European and Mediterranean fruits and nuts, such as apples, pears, oranges, lemons, almonds, chestnuts, and