Where did I go?

A. Geography

Located in the continent of Europe, Spain covers 498,980 square kilometers of land and 6,390 square kilometers of water, making it the 52nd largest nation in the world with a total area of 505,370 square kilometers. Spain shares land borders with 5 countries: Morocco, Gibraltar, Andorra, France, Portugal.

Spain is the third largest country in Europe and 45% is covered by the Meseta Plateau. That plateau is rarely flat, and is in reality a mostly hilly highland area divided by the Cordillera Central (mountains), and then ringed by additional mountain ranges, north, east and south. In the west the Meseta slopes gently down into neighboring Portugal. I can only assume that the number of mountains makes commutation more difficult, making it take longer to get around. This amount also makes rural areas become more dense, packing more houses and buildings in a smaller area.

The Capital City, Madrid, in mid-Spain, and because of its central location and high altitude, the climate of Madrid is characterized by warm dry summers and cool winters. Madrid is a city of great monuments.

The borders of Spain have stayed consistent throughout history for the most part. A few exceptions include some across-seas land that Spain ruled pre-WWI. During the early history of the U.S., Spanish Conquistadors came in search of gold, and colonized multiple areas that were later lost.

I assume that Spanish natives travel a lot, exception only the Spain-Catalan Border. Travelling is not only big for people who live there, but tourists in Spain generate a source of economic prosperity, keeping in mind that there are multitudes of Tourist Hotspots.

This information I have gathered will help me as I take on this challenge, the unknown, to grow as a person.

B. Climate and Environment

There are three different climate zones in Spain, due to its large size. People can generally expect a Mediterranean climate, characterized by hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. The vast central plateau, or Meseta, has a more continental influenced climate with hot, dry summers and cold winters. Rain generally falls mostly in spring and autumn. The mountains surrounding the plateau have a higher rainfall and often experience heavy snowfalls in winter.

Between 1995 and 2015, the death toll from natural disasters in Spain was 1,215. Flooding, for example, killed 328 people, and heat waves caused 178 deaths, according to figures from the Directorate General for Civil Protection and Emergencies. The UN and a wide range of scientific bodies warn that climate change not only affects average temperatures, but also increases the number and intensity of natural disasters: they are a knock-on effect like the transformation of land into desert, and land loss due to rising sea levels. As a member of the EU and a signatory of the Paris climate agreement, Spain is aware of the need to eliminate the fossil fuels responsible for greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining economic growth. But the government’s own forecasts indicate that, far from reducing emissions, Spain is on course to increase them over the next 20 years. In 2040, the country will spill the equivalent of 353.7 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CDE) into the atmosphere, which will be 18 million tons more than in 2015.

Bullfighting is increasingly becoming a controversial topic. As the death of a Spanish matador in the bullfighting ring last week sparked renewed calls for a ban of the bloody tradition and reopened a national debate on its place in modern day Spain.

The air pollution is a serious problem that the country faces. Industrial CO2 emissions in 1995 amounted to 223.2 million Mt and globally Spain ranked 20th in emissions. There are air pollution laws that increase strict controls on many sectors. (Mondaq 2018) Another issue is Deforestation, extensive forests of Spain have been destroyed over the years due to unplanned cutting, forest fires, and poor farming practices. Unfortunately, reforestation schemes implemented by the government have not been very successful. There are multiple national parks in Spain and it is apart of the Kyoto Protocol. The U.S. is also apart of the Kyoto Protocol.

This information will help me know what to expect and pack for whenever I move to Spain.