SPAIN. 



SPAIN. 



which extend* north to Vitoria and outh to Xagera, and la here and 

 then inUmotcd by detached group* of limeitone hills. It haa a 

 tolerably fertile toil, nod product* good crop* of corn. Farther eut 

 many oAeto branch off from the Sierra de Aralar and the Pyrenees, 

 and west of the river Aragon these ridges cover at least three-fourths 

 of the country north of the Kbro. Near the principal ridges they 

 constitute rxtrnsire mountain masses, which are separated by narrow 

 valleys. The masse* themselves are unfit for cultivation, but are used 

 as pasture-ground*, and a great part of them is covered with forests 

 containing many fiuo timber-tree*. The valleys are cultivated. About 

 13 mile* from the river the mountain manes decrease in size and 

 elevation, and soon sink down to hill*, which extend to the banks of 

 the liver. Their slopes are partly cultivated, and yield good crops of 

 umize, wheat, and other grain ; there are also numerous plantations of 

 vines, olive-trees, and chestnut-tree*. Hemp and flax are extensively 

 crown. Grain, oil, and wine, are exported to a considerable amount. 

 [NAVAHRA.I 



East of the river Aragon more than half of the country north of 

 (he Ebro it covered with the branches of the Pyrenees. Between the 

 sources of the rivers Aragon and Segre (that is, between 1 W. long. 

 and 2' E. long.) is the highest portion of the Pyreneau Mountains, 

 containing the lofty summits and extensive mountain masses of the 

 Pic du Midi, of Monto Perdido, and Monte Maladctn. In this part 

 Ihe northern declivity is extremely steep; but towards the south the 

 range slopes down in a long inclined plain, which terminates about 

 40 miles from the highest part of the range, north of 42 N. hit 

 The irregularly-inclined plain is furrowed by deep and narrow valleys. 

 Near the great chain these valleys are almost unfit for cultivation, on 

 account of the severity of the climate; but farther down narrow tracts 

 occur which are cultivated with the grains of Northern Europe and 

 with flax. As the mountains terminate north of 42 N. lat., a con- 

 siderable tract of country extends between them and the banks of the 

 Ebro. This tract is partly cultivable and partly a desert The desert 

 is not far from the banks of the river, and extends from the vicinity of 

 Zaragoxa on the west to near Mequinenza on the east, ft distance of 

 more than 50 miles in a straight line. It is about 10 or 12 miles in 

 width, and formed by a swell of the ground, which in its highest part 

 may rise 1500 feet above the level of the Ebro. The surface is a suc- 

 cession of slight ascents and descents, and the soil is extremely arid. 

 This tract is called the Sierra de Alcubicrre. It is nearly uninhabited, 

 and almost a useless waste. A cultivated country surrounds it on all 

 idea, though the soil is in general of indifferent quality, and the 

 crop* for from being abundant. But the plain of Lerida is an 

 exception : it is distinguished by fertility, cultivation is general, and 

 the waste lands are of small extent. It produces good crops of maize, 

 wheat, rye, barley, oats, leguminous vegetables, fruit, wine, and oil. 

 The countries within the basin of the Ebro south of the river contain 

 a much larger proportion of arable land, and are much more populous 

 than those on the north of the river. [Ar.Auox.] 



The country which extends between the Sierra de Lleua and the 

 Mediterranean, and the lower course of the Ebro, may be considered 

 an appendage of the basin of the Ebro. With few exceptions the 

 surface is very hilly, and in some parts even mountainous. The 

 ridges of hills which traverse it run partly parallel to the Sierra de 

 I.leua, and partly in an opposite direction towards the Mediterranean. 

 The fertility is various. [CATALVNA.] 



The countries included in the basin of the Ebro differ greatly in 

 climate, the valleys within the Pyrenees being so cold that the com- 

 mon kinds of grain do not succeed, while along the sea-shore and 

 towards the mouth of the river most of the fruits of Southern Europe 

 attain perfection. In general it may be observed that the part of the 

 basin which is north of the river, with the exception of the tracts 

 immediately situated on the shores of the Mediterranean, has more 

 severe winters and colder summers than the great table-hind, whilst 

 the countries south of the river have a mild winter, and a much more 

 temperate summer. The mean annual quantity of rain is between 

 20 and 26 inches, but it is much more in the elevated valleys of the 

 Pyrenees. In the interior the climate is healthy, but not so on the 

 coat Barcelona has occasionally suffered from the yellow fever. 



The eastern declivity of the table-laud, from the mouth of the Ebro 

 to Cabo de Palos, contains four regions, which differ in their natural 

 features and productive powers. The most northern extends from 

 the Ebro to Murviedro. Along the sea-shore there is a narrow strip 

 of level ground, hardly more than two or three miles wide, which in 

 few places is interrupted by low hills. It is generally fertile, and 

 in some places highly fertile. The hills which lie at the back of it, 

 and the valleys between them, are also tolerably fertile and well cul- 

 tivated, but where the country approaches the high table-land of 

 Cuenoa the soil is dry and less productive. 



South of this hilly country is the plain of Valencia, which extends 

 on the sea-shore from Murviedro to Gandio, a distance of more than 

 40 miles, and in iU widest part, at the back of the town of Valencia, 

 it extends about twenty miles inland. It is abundantly irrigated, and 

 the whole is under cultivation. It is no less noted for the great 

 variety of its fruits, and rich crops of rice, wheat, and other grain, 

 than for the mildness of the climate, which never experiences frost, 

 but yet is not considered healthy. 



The country which lies south of the plain of Valencia, and extends 



along the sea-shore from Oandia to the vicinity of Alicante and Elche, 

 is extremely broken. It may be considered the most eastern offset of 

 the great table-land, for its central districts are at a grc.-tt i-lrv Miim 

 above the sea-level, as may be inferred from the severe cold which is 

 experienced in the winter months, and from the circumstance that the 

 most elevated ridges couth of Alcoy, fur some months of the year, are 

 covered with snow. The valleys are usually narrow, and the level 

 tracts between the mountains are of small extent, and their fertility 

 not much above mediocrity, but all the arable land is cultivated wit li 

 great industry, and the crops of maize and corn are tolerably abundant. 



South of this mountainous region the eastern declivity of the table- 

 land extends much farther inland. On the west it reaches to the 

 Sierra de Scgura, and on the south it extends to 37 20' N. lat. The 

 western portion of this region (west of 2 W. long.) is almost entirely 

 filled up with mountains which rise to between 4000 and 5000 feet 

 above the sen-level. It is probable that the general elevation of the 

 valleys is not less than 2000 feet, and that this tract unites the great 

 table-land with the mountain region of the Sierra Nevada. The long 

 narrow valleys are not fertile, and they are badly cultivated. East of 

 2 W. long, the mountains recede and leave wide valleys between them, 

 which are distinguished by considerable fertility, and are covered with 

 corn-fields and plantations of fruit-trees. [Mcnci.v.] 



The basin of the river Guadalquivir lies between the great table- 

 land and the mountain region of the Sierra Nevada. On the north is 

 the Sierra M arena, and on the cast the Sierra de Segura and the Sierra 

 de Sagra. The mountains which constitute the southern boundary- 

 line run along 37 35' N. lat, east of 4 30' W. long., but west of that 

 meridian they decline to the south-west and terminate on the Atlantic 

 in Cape Trafalgar. The lower level of this country is about 1500 feet 

 below the high countries which lie north and south of it. The source 

 of the river Guadalquivir is only 526 feet above the sea-level. Such 

 a difference in the level of the country must of course be attended by 

 a corresponding difference in vegetation and productions. [ANDALUCIA.] 



Kiverg. Spain is drained by a great number of rivers, nnd some of 

 them run for several hundred miles ; but only a very few are navigable 

 for small boats, and that only towards their mouths. Moat of the 

 rivers have only a very small quantity of water. This is mainly to 

 be ascribed to the small amount of rain which falls on the table-land 

 and the adjacent tracts, in which almost all the rivers rise ; and this 

 small quantity is very soon evaporated, as the highest parts of the 

 interior are destitute of trees. Though the number of mountain 

 ranges is very great, most of them are only for a few months of the 

 year covered with a thin layer of snow, which dissolves very rapidly. 

 It is remarkable that those rivers which are navigable become so only 

 at places where they are joined by tributaries which originate in such 

 mountains as rise above the snow-line. The Ebro becomes navigable 

 at Tudela, after having been joined by the Aragon, which originates 

 with numerous branches in the snow-covered mountains which sur- 

 round the Pic du Midi. The Tagus is not navigable even for small 

 boats above Alcantara, a town situated near the boundary of Portugal, 

 and where it is joined by the Alagon, which river is supplied during 

 the whole year with water from the snow-covered summit of the 

 Sierra de Gredos. The Guadalquivir can only be navigated by small 

 boats from the town of Palma downwards, for at that place it receives 

 the Jenil, which derives the great supply of water that it bring* 

 down from the Sierra Nevada. The Duero begins to be navigable at 

 the confluence of the Sabor, and after having received the Esla. which 

 originates in the Asturian Mountains. But though the rivers of Spain 

 are nearly useless for the transport of its productions, they are of 

 great importance for fertilising the ground by irrigation. This practice 

 is nearly general in all the countries which extend along the Mediter- 

 ranean, and in the basin of the Guadalquivir. It cannot be intro- 

 duced on the table-land, as the rivers which water it generally run in 

 so deep a bed, and so much below the general surface of the country, 

 that their waters cannot be made available for that purpose. In the 

 northern and north-western maritime countries the rains are sufficiently 

 abundant for the growth of corn without such artificial means. 



The largest rivers are noticed under their proper heads. [Douno ; 

 EBKO ; TAGUS.] The other principal rivers are noticed under the 

 names of those provinces in which they have the whole or the greatest 

 part of their courses. The Miiio (Minho in Portuguese) is noticed 

 under GAI.ICIA ; the Guadiana, under CASTILLA LA NUEVA and ALEM- 

 TEJO; the Guadalquivir, under ANDALUCIA; the Segura, under MUKCIA ; 

 the Guadalajara, under CASTILLA LA NUEVA; and so the rest 



Geology, The several mountain ranges of the Spanish peninsula, 

 mostly extending from east-north-east to west-south-west, consist of 

 primary rocks, but are separated from each other by extensive basins 

 of tertiary strata. 



The central portion of the Pyrenees, and the continuation of the 

 chain through Biscaya and Asturias, is composed of quartzose and 

 schistose rocks, red sandstones, shales, and gray limestones. The 

 sierras east of Burgos extending to the Moncayo are crystalHue schists, 

 flanked by masses of sandstone and shale. The Sierra de Guadarrama, 

 the main ridge of the C'ostilian table-land, consists of gneiss and other 

 crystalline schists, with subordinate limestones pierced by granite. 

 These central crystalline rocks are flanked by schists nnd silicious 

 sandstones. The Sierra Morena consists mostly of lower Silurian 



