SPAIN. 



SPAIN. 



633 



At Cabo de Palos a low and sandy count begins, which extend* as 

 far north as Cabo de Santa Pols, a short distance south of Alicante. 

 It has no harbours even for (small vessels or large boats, though it is 

 intersected by several creeks, which in some places form small lagoons. 

 Prom Cabo de Santa Pola to Villajoyosa the coast-line is generally low 

 but rocky, and in some places the ridges which traverse the adjacent 

 country terminate on the sea with steep hills of small extent and 

 moderate elevation. From Villajoyosa to Denia the coast is almost 

 without exception rocky and high, but does not rise to a great elevation. 

 Between Cabo de Paloa and Denia there is no harbour except that of 



licante. 



From Denia to the mouth of the Ebro the coast is low and sandy. 

 North of Castellon de la Plana a few low ridges terminate on the 

 sea, forming a moderately high shore. This coast-line has no harbours 

 even for vessels of moderate size ; and Orao, the port of Valencia, is 

 bad roadstead. Along this low coast there are many small 

 lagoons, called Albuferas. [ALBUFERA DE VAUWCIA.] South of the 

 mouth of the Ebro is the Puerto de los Alfaques, which can only be 

 entered by vessels drawing not more than fifteen feet. 



From the mouth of the Ebro to the boundary of France the coast 

 is alternately high and low, and both the low and the high shores 

 generally continue for many miles. In this part there occur several 

 harbours for small vessels ; and two, Barcelona and Kosas, are deep 

 enough for large ships. The small harbour of Salon, which is the 

 port of Reus, is only fit for small vessels. 



Surface. Spain presents greater and more marked differences in the 

 form of its surface than any other country of Europe of equal extent 

 The interior is an elevated table-land, which is from 2000 to 3000 feet 

 sea-level. Though situated at the western extremity of 

 Europe, and near the sea, which surrounds that part of the world, its 

 elevation is higher than that of any other table-land of Europe. The 

 table-land comprehends nearly the whole country which lies between 

 38 and 43 N. lat., and extends from near 1 to near 8 W. long. It 

 does not advance to the sea, but on the north and west it is divided 

 from the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic by a comparatively narrow 

 tract of mountainous country. Nor does it extend to the base of the 

 Pyrenees, being separated from them by the basin of the river Ebro. 

 Between the table-land and the Mediterranean there is also a lower 

 country, which in some parts is hilly and even mountainous, and in 

 others extends in wide plains. South of the table-land is the basin 

 of the river Guadalquivir, by which the table-land is separated from 

 another more elevated and more mountainous region, that of the Sierra 

 Nevada, which extends over the southern part of Spain along the 

 Mediterranean and the Strait of Gibraltar. 



The table-land comprehends the eastern districts of Galicia, the 

 whole of the province of Leon, that of Old Castile, with the exception 

 of about one-fourth of its area which lies in the basin of the Ebro and 

 along the Bay of Biscay, the whole of New Castile and Kstremadurn, 

 the south-western districts of Aragon, and the northern districts of 

 Murcia. According to a rough estimate it extends over a surface 

 of about 92,000 square miles, or over more than one-half of the area 



" Spain. 



The table-land is nearly surrounded by mountains. Along its 

 northern edge rise with a steep ascent the mountains of Asturias, 

 which in elevation nearly rival the Pyrenees. From the Sierra de 

 Sejos, at the source of the Ebro, to the Sierra de Petiamarela, which 

 lies near 7 W. long., the direction of the chain is from east to west, 

 or nearly so, but in this part of the range the highest edge of the 

 mountains runs south-west, but soon turns north, inclosing a narrow 

 glen, in which the river Navia descends to the Bay of Biscay. For 

 about 4 miles the range runs northward, until it approaches the Bay 

 of Biscay within about 12 miles, when it again turns westward, and 

 after having run about twenty miles in that direction, turns south- 

 ward, dividing the basin of the upper Minho from the lower country 

 which lies to the west of it. Near the town of Orense the mountain- 

 chain terminates, or rather there is a depression through which the 

 Minho flows; for on the east of the river rises another ridge, which 

 runs east-south-east till it approaches the Duero, where it begins to 

 form the boundary between Spain and Portugal. 



The high grounds which divide the table-land from the basin of the 

 Ebro cannot be considered as a mountain ridge in all their extent. 

 Towards the western extremity of the river basin no mountain range 

 divides it from the table-land. East of the town of Burgos rises the 

 Sierra de Oca, which extends from west-north-west to east-south-east, 

 and is followed by the Sierra de Cameros. Contiguous to it, and in 

 the same direction, is the Sierra do Moncayo, which has its eastern 

 termination near 2 W. long. From this point the edge of the table- 

 land is less marked. It runs to the river Jalon, which it crosses near 

 Calatayud, and afterwards in a south-eastern direction along the high 

 grounds which form the right bank of the river Jiloca, which gradually 

 rise into mountains near the town of Montalban, whence the moun- 

 tain chain continues to the boundary between Aragon and Valencia. 

 Thence the edge of the table-land runs southward along the elevated 

 ridge which extends east of the river Turia, or Guadalaviar. It crosses 

 this river north of Requeua, and afterwards tho river Jucar below its 

 confluence with the Gabriel, and then continues southward, leaving 

 the town of Almansa to the west, to the vicinity of Villona. South 

 of the Jucar the edge of the table-land is not marked by a continuous 



