Transcript Southern Europe

Southern Europe
The Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula
Spain
Portugal
Andorra
Spain:
Past meets Present
Madrid, Spain’s capital city
Portugal:
The Western Edge
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Portugal was a
leading nation
during the Age of
Discovery
Vasco da Gama set
sail for the New
World from the city
of Belém
Lisbon,
Portugal’s
capital city
Andorra:
Perched in the Pyrenees
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Andorra is a small
country (185
square miles)
It is perched high
in the Pyrenees,
dividing Spain and
France
Andorra la Vella,
the capital city of Andorra
The Land
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The Iberian Peninsula—High and Rugged
• Northern region—Pyrenees Mountains divide
the peninsula from the rest of Europe.
• Southern region—Sierra Nevada range
The Meseta
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Meseta = a huge
central plateau
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• Meseta – “tableland”
• Plateau – a flat
landmass higher
than the surrounding
land
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Covers 2/3 of the
peninsula
Farmers raise wheat
and vegetables
• Irrigation is
necessary because
of the dry climate
and poor, reddishyellow soil
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Farmers also herd
sheep and goats
The Meseta
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Many major rivers begin in the Meseta:
• The Tagus, Spain’s longest river
• The Guadalquivir, flows from the Meseta to the Atlantic
Ocean
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The Guadalquivir River Basin is in southern Spain
The Climate
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Coastal areas:
• Mediterranean
climate
• Mild winters
• Hot summers
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Northern areas:
• Marine west
coast climate
• Warm winds
from the
Atlantic bring a
lot of rain
The Meseta:
• Cold winters, hot summers, very little rain
The Economy
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Tourism and farming benefits all
three countries on the Iberian
Peninsula
Both Spain and Portugal are
developing countries; they are
catching up with other EU countries
in economic devlopment
Tourism--Spain
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Sunny climate
Beautiful beaches
Storybook castles
La Alhambra
•Mohammed I turned a
9th century castle, in
Granada, into his royal
residence.
•La Alhambra is one of
the finest examples of
Moorish architecture in
the world
•It is among Europe’s
most visited tourist
attractions
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http://www.spain.info/TourSpain/Destacados%20Multimedia/Videos/visorVid.htm?Video=00128GRENWM.WMV?Tipo=wm
Tourism--Portugal
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Relics of the past
• Architecture
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Beautiful beaches
• Water sports
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Golf
Tourism--Andorra
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What about
Andorra?
• Skiing
• Shopping
• Mountain Climbing
The Economy--Spain
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Growing industrial and
service economy
• Machinery, Trucks,
Cars, Clothing
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Farming and Fishing
• Acres and acres of olive
groves
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World’s largest
producer of olive oil
• Also export citrus fruits,
cork, and wine
The Economy--Portugal
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Benefits from
textile (clothing)
Subsistence
farming
• Wine grapes, citrus
fruits, olives, rice,
cork, wheat
• World’s leading
exporter of cork
The People
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Spain and Portugal share similar
histories and cultures.
Iberians migrated from North Africa
• Romans later followed from Italy
• Moors also came from North Africa
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Culture, religion, and architecture
were influenced by these early
civilizations
The People
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By the late 1900s…
• Independent
• Powerful
• Roman Catholic
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Sponsored…
• Christopher
Columbus
• Vasco da Gama
The Culture--Portugal
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Portugal developed a unified culture based
on the Portuguese language
The Culture—Spain
“A country of different countries”
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Spain’s regions remain culturally unique
• Castile
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Has dictated the culture for centuries
The dialect of the Castilian people became the major
language of Spain
• dialect – a local form of language
• Catalonia
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Speak Catalan, a language related to French
• Galicia (northwest) and Andalusia (south) also have
unique cultural traditions
• Basque
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In northern Spain
Speak a language unlike any other in Europe
Think of themselves as separate from Spain—want their
own independence
The Running of the Bulls
Pamplona, Spain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONZtJyOY6j0
• The Running of the
Bulls takes place in
Pamplona, Spain to
help kick off the
festival of San
Fermin, during the
fiesta week (early to
mid July)
Questions?