Erosion and river pollution are also problems. Spain has created many national parks and refuges, but they only cover about 7 percent of the country. The park's diversity of life is unique in Europe and includes the European badger, Egyptian mongoose, and endangered species such as the Spanish imperial eagle and the Iberian lynx.
In Spain, which is a parliamentary monarchy, the king and the elected president share the power. Although there is a national parliament, Spain is one of the most decentralized democracies in Europe. Each of its 17 regions manages its own schools, hospitals, and other public services. With vibrant, historic cities and sunny beaches, Spain attracts more tourists than any other European country except France. Services to the tourism industry drive Spain's economy, the eighth largest in the world.
In Spain joined the European Community and further modernized its economy. Important industries include mining, shipbuilding, and textiles. Settlers have migrated to Spain from Europe, Africa, and the Mediterranean since the dawn of history. The Phoenicians, who came in the 8th century B. By the first century B. Spain became mostly Christian under the Romans, who were followed by the Vandals and the Visigoths, Germanic peoples from Europe.
The Visigoth rulers fought among themselves, and in A. Islamic culture spread across Spain as Muslim rulers introduced new crops and irrigation systems, and trading increased. Mathematics, medicine, and philosophy became more advanced, peaking in the tenth century—the golden age of Islamic rule in Spain. In Christian kingdoms in northern Spain conquered the Muslims and spread the Catholic religion.
Enriched by silver from the Americas, Spain grew more powerful. It later lost land and power in the Napoleonic Wars, which ended in The narrowest point of the Straits of Gibraltar between the two continents Europe and Africa is The Spanish nation is divided in 17 autonomous communities which are regions where people have their own regional government.
Spain is slightly larger than twice the size of the United Kingdom and about twice the size of the state of Oregon in the USA.
In the North, the Pyrenees mountain ranges form a natural border with the tiny country of Andorra and with France. To the west of Spain is Portugal. The three largest cities in Spain are Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. Madrid is the capital city of Spain and the second largest city of the European Union countries - after Berlin in Germany.
Other popular tourist destinations are Malaga in Andalusia and Santiago de Compostela in Galicia as this town is the endpoint of the famous Camino pilgrimage trail. Spain not only occupies land area on the European mainland. The climate in Spain varies considerably between the different regions. In the northern mountainous regions the climate is alpine and the interior experiences a hot and arid climate, still most of the country appreciates a temperate and mild climate.
The climate in the southwestern parts is semi-arid while the northwestern parts experiences an oceanic climate. On the Canary islands the climate is subtropical and semi-arid.
The four islands belonging to the Islas Baleares Balearic Islands are:. The islands were formed by volcanic eruptions of the Canary hotspot. The seven largest islands belonging to the Islas Canares Canary Islands are:. There are several other much smaller islands.
More than 2 million people live on the Canary Islands. The beach is close to the city centre and the Barceloneta suburb is the most popular beach suburb of Barcelona. More than , visitors from all over the world visit this popular beach every summer. Did you know that Barcelona is ranked as one the best beach cities in the world? Most of the people in Spain live along the coastlines of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
Significant cities in the interior are the capital city Madrid and the cities Zaragoza and Sevilla. Spain has her own royal family who lives in the royal place, the ' Zarzuela Palace ', outside of Madrid. Felipe VI is the King of Spain since The Royal Palace, Palacio Real , in the city of Madrid is the place where official functions take place.
Many Spanish people are soccer fans. Spain is known for its flamenco dance. In Andalusia, in many towns and villages people dance the flamenco for special festivities. Some of the best flamenco dancers are said to be the Romani people ' gitanos ' in Spanish. The gitanos arrived to Spain in the 15th century and still conserve their own language and traditions.
In the image you can see girls performing the flamenco at a fiesta festival in Seville. Spain is also known for many festivals, such as the ' Tomatina ' and the 'Running of the Bulls', that attract thousands of participants and visitors. The competition includes four teams of athletes from the city and in total more than 40 teams from all over Spain. Sometimes the human towers reach up to 11 metres!
Read more here. As summers get very hot in the Spanish cities of the inland, many Spaniards flock to the seaside during summer holidays or visit the mountainous villages in the north of the country. The road and rail system are efficient.
The tourist industry benefits from these services. The Spanish culture is a rich culture. Many types of people that have had an influence on Spain. There are all sorts of artistic activities to enjoy from art, music, theatre and dancing. They enjoy music and dancing and the national sport is football. The Spanish are well known for a distinctive style of dancing, the Flamenco and you can learn to dance the Fandango. The Spanish love Fiestas or holiday celebrations. Easter is a popular festival as well as the Falls Bonfire festival held in Valencia.
Spanish people love life! They enjoy eating with friends and starting a meal with Tapas or Pintxos, traditional appetisers. The restaurant Botin claims to be the oldest restaurant in the world and has been open since The dish it serves as its signature dish is still the same — roast suckling pig.
Although many people think of Paella as the national food of Spain. The Spanish themselves do not share this view. They believe that Paella is representative only of the region of Valencia. Bullfighting is a sport that is part of Spanish culture. They have a strict code of behaviour. Originally bullfighters rode on horseback, but now they walk on foot around the bull ring. The architecture in Spain demonstrates great historical and geographical diversity.
The Muslim Conquest in brought about great advances in Architecture. Similarly, christian kingdoms such as Aragon also started to develop their own styles. Later additions to Spanish architectural history were the influence of the Romanesque and Gothic streams.
Spain is a constitutional monarchy, which means that the country does have a reigning monarch but that all executive powers lie with the democratically elected government. After hardline dictator General Franco was removed from power in , King Juan Carlos 1 was given the throne. He quickly fell out of favour with his people after numerous scandals and handed power to his son in With sweeping beaches, Mountains to climb and Historic palaces to explore, Spain has steadily climbed to the second most Popular Global Tourist Destination.
Spain Welcomes around 83 million tourists every year. Totalling Hermando Cortes was a Spanish Conquistador and he led the expedition to South America that crushed the Aztec empire and started the colonization of South America.
David de Gea is a famous Spanish footballer.
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