Total Area: 505,370 sq km
Land Area: 498,980 sq km Water Area: 6,390 sq km Climate description: temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast Terrain description: large, flat to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills; Pyrenees Mountains in north Arable Land Use: 27.18% Permanent Crop Land Use: 9.85% Irrigated Land: 38,000 sq km (2003) Total Renewable Water Resources:111.1 cu km (2005) Total Freshwater Withdrawal:37.22 cu km/yr (13%/19%/68%) Per Person Freshwater Withdrawal: 864 cu m/yr (2002) Natural Hazards description: periodic droughts, occasional flooding volcanism: volcanic activity in the Canary Islands, located off Africa's northwest coast; Teide (elev. 3,715 m) has been deemed a "Decade Volcano" by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; La Palma (elev. 2,426 m), which last erupted in 1971, is the most active of the Canary Islands volcanoes; Lanzarote is the only other historically active volcano Environmental Current Issues: pollution of the Mediterranean Sea from raw sewage and effluents from the offshore production of oil and gas; water quality and quantity nationwide; air pollution; deforestation; desertification Total Labor Force: 23.14 million (2012 est.) % of Labor Force in Agriculture: 4.2% Agricultural Products description: grain, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish Click on the pictures for their links |
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