8.

THE LANDSCAPE

1. THE LANDSCAPE

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

There are mountains landscapes, flat landscapes and coastal

landscapes.

2. MOUNTAINS

Mountains landscapes are made up of mountains and valleys.

 Mountains are raised parts of the Earth´s surface. Hills have a

lower altitude than mountains.

 Several mountains grouped together are called mountain range.

A long line of mountain ranges is called mountain chain.

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

3. 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.

MOUNTAINS AND PLAINS IN SPAIN

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 península are in these chains.

THE COAST

1. 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.

2. 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 a river which opens into the sea.
 A marsh is wet land near the mouth of a river.

SPANISH COAST

Spain has more tan 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 alternete with long beaches.