Solved Exam on Geography of Spain

Geography of Spain development questions

a) Indicate the main characteristics of the Plateau and its interior relief units

Answer. The Meseta Central is characterized by a high average altitude, exceeding 600 meters, and features alternating plains and mountainous terrain. Its origin lies in the Hesperian Massif, which arose during the Hercynian orogeny of the Paleozoic Era. This massif was eroded during the Mesozoic Era, resulting in a large plain, the Paleozoic or Hercynian basement. This basement was fractured by the Alpine orogeny in the Tertiary Era, causing some blocks to subside and others to rise, as well as affecting its edges, where sediments had been deposited. The Meseta Central can be divided into the following parts:

• The Core System It is made up of a chain of mountain ranges that extends for 400 km. The Gata, Gredos, Guadarrama and Somosierra mountain ranges stand out. The mountain ranges are fragmented blocks raised from the plateau of the plateau (Horst). The constituent rocks are from the Primary Era, Paleozoic (granites, slates, gneiss). Typical eroded landscape of Siliceous Iberia (granitic balls, berrocal and scree) and traces of glacierism (circuses, lagoons...)
• The Toledo Mountains They have a lower altitude. Its formation is similar to that of the Central System (Paleozoic, Hercynian materials, affected by Alpine folding). The Sierra de Guadalupe and Montanchez stand out. Slates and quartzites are abundant, hard and very resistant to erosion. It presents a very eroded, Appalachian relief.
• The depressions and plains of the interior of the Meseta They are the depressions of the Duero, the Tajo and the Guadiana. They arise from the collapse of the Paleozoic base (graben) in the Alpine folding and the subsequent filling of these depressions at the end of the Tertiary Era. Today they are extensive plains where moors, mesas or moles, slopes, witness hills or knolls and countryside stand out. Soft materials typical of Clay Iberia with a horizontal and sloping relief that presents differential erosion.

b) Industry in Spain: location and distribution factors of industrial areas. Indicate its main characteristics

Answer. Since the 1980s, changes have been observed in the factors and trends of industrial location, although the large concentrations inherited from the past remain. Location factors that are losing importance include proximity to natural resources, due to the lower cost of transporting raw materials and the creation of synthetic substitutes; and proximity to the consumer market, given the improvement in transport and communications in the context of globalization.

The availability of good transport and communication systems and labor remain important. The main current factors of industrial location are access to innovation and information, essential for the competitiveness of industries. The territory also acquires more and more weight, as it provides competitive advantages to the companies installed there.

The aforementioned changes have modified industrial location trends: the diffusion of part of the industry to peripheral spaces is accentuated, while the strong attractiveness of the most developed urban-industrial areas is maintained.

Regarding industrial location in Spain, strong territorial imbalances remain. There are different areas:

• Developed industrial areas They are the central spaces of the metropolitan areas of Madrid and Barcelona. Its recent evolution has been marked by the reconversion or collapse of mature sectors and by industrial revitalization that has favored a growing outsourcing of the industry.
• Expanding industrial areas and axes They are areas that are receiving industry as a result of industry diffusion trends or endogenous development. Several types can be distinguished: metropolitan rings, peri-urban strips, industrial development axes and rural areas.
• The areas and axes in decline are zones characterized due to their industrial decline, located on the Cantabrian coast and in some specific locations such as Ferrol. The causes of the decline are its specialization in mature sectors, which have undergone a difficult reconversion. The consequences have been deindustrialization and population loss due to emigration.
• The areas of induced and scarce industrialization They are characterized by the existence of some large isolated industrial establishments and by the predominance of traditional, small and isolated industries. The areas of induced industrialization are found in Aragon, Castilla-León and Andalusia. Those with little industrialization in Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands.

c) Spanish foreign emigration in the 20th century. Stages, destinations and main characteristics

Answer. External migration refers to migration that takes place outside the borders of one's own country. Until 1975, Spain was a country of emigrants, but since the 80s, Spain has become a country of immigrants. Types of external migration:

• Transoceanic or overseas emigration. It was mainly directed to Latin America, the USA, Canada and Australia. With periods of boom and others of crisis. From the mid-1th century until the 2st World War: they came from areas close to the Atlantic (Galicians, Asturias and the Canary Islands) and went to Latin America (Argentina, Cuba, Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay), they were low-income peasants or ranchers. qualification. After the Second World War (1950 to 1960): they came from Galicia and the Canary Islands and went to America (Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina), they were more qualified farmers and industrial workers and technicians. On the other hand, the period between the two world wars was a period of crisis (there was a shortage of transportation and difficulties in going abroad), and after 1960, when the international blockade ended, we began to go to Europe, which was closer to us.
• Emigration to Europe. Until 1950 they came from the Levantine countryside, Aragon, Navarra and Castilla-León and went mainly to France, they were seasonal farmers (harvesting), construction workers, domestic service girls and political refugees. From 1950-1975, low-skilled adult males left all Spanish regions, especially Andalusia and Galicia, and went to Switzerland, France and Germany for hard, dangerous and poorly paid jobs (construction, industries, agriculture). Since 1975 it declined due to the European energy crisis, which caused many emigrants to return to Spain.
• New destinations. Since 1975, Spaniards with high professional qualifications have gone to work outside Spain in good, well-paid jobs (scientists in the US, technicians and engineers in Arab countries such as Algeria, Saudi Arabia, etc.). Currently, with the crisis, many unemployed people are emigrating again to Germany, South America...

d) The agricultural landscape of the northern peninsula. Agricultural structure and land uses

Answer. Also called the agricultural landscape of humid Spain, it has a physical environment characterized by rugged terrain, with few flat areas and a rainy oceanic climate year-round. It is characterized by:

• A large population that was subject to emigration and is now aging. The settlement is dispersed, interspersed with villages, parishes and towns. The property is smallholder, promoting land concentration. The land use is mainly livestock.
• The cultivated area is not extensive. In the past, polyculture was practiced for family consumption (corn, barley, rye, potatoes, fruit trees and vines) supported by some livestock. Currently, polyculture has disappeared and agriculture is specializing in orchard crops and forage plants for livestock (meadows, alfalfa, forage corn), in line with the development of semi-stabled cattle farming.
• Livestock farming is the most important economic activity, favored by climatic conditions, urban demand for milk and rural exodus. In Galicia, small and medium-sized farms continue to predominate despite recent modernization efforts. On the Cantabrian coast, they are larger and better equipped, although they are not competitive either. Entry into the EU has also brought about greater community competition and the problem of surpluses, which entails the imposition of quotas and the decrease in production, which in turn makes modernization difficult.
• Forest exploitation is another important activity, it is used for the furniture industry or for obtaining paper pulp.

 

Practical part

The student must develop a practice to choose between two proposals. The maximum score for this practical test is 3 points.

Question 1

The attached figures show the age and structure of the Spanish population in 1900 and 2015. Make a comment based on the following questions:

• What is meant by population pyramid and how is it constructed?
• Comment on the age and sex structure of the population reflected in both pyramids. Indicate the main differences.
• Observe the range of the population between 0-14 years old and explain the causes of the reduction in the base of the pyramid in 2015. Give reasons for your answer.
• Observe the population over 65 years of age in both pyramids and explain the main differences that exist between both figures. What do you think the future of the Spanish population will be like?

Answer. A population pyramid is a graphical representation that allows us to analyze a population by sex and age at a given time. It is created using bars; the left side shows men and the right side shows women, divided into age cohorts on the vertical axis, while the horizontal axis represents the population size. The bars are calculated based on the percentage of each age group relative to the total population.

In relation to the analysis by sex, in both pyramids, in the first age cohorts there is a slight predominance of males since 105 boys are born for every 100 girls, on average. In the following age cohorts there is no difference and the proportions are equal, but from the age of 65 onwards the proportion of women increases because they have a longer life expectancy for biological reasons, among others. This last characteristic is more evident in the 2015 pyramid given the high mortality of both sexes at the beginning of the XNUMXth century due to disease or war.

Regarding the analysis by age, the 1900 pyramid tells us by its shape that it is a pagoda, with a high birth rate and mortality, due to the lack of contraceptive methods and the need for offspring to ensure old age and work in the fields but with a high number of deaths due to wars, epidemics, health problems, food, etc. While in 2015 the shape is an urn, which shows us the low birth rate and mortality in the country due to the change in the population's mentality, legalization and normalization of contraceptive methods and cultural changes for women and with mortality declining to due to improvements in health, food and creation of the welfare state. These causes of the decrease in birth rates are what show the narrowing of the age range of 0-14 years since the fertility rate drops at this time mainly motivated by lack of stable employment, high housing prices, the incorporation of women to work, the dissemination of contraceptive means, the delay of the age of marriage or the first child and the increase in the standard of living.

Finally, the difference in the bands of both pyramids from the age of 65 is notable since there is a large increase in 2015 due, as we have mentioned before, to the increase in longevity in Spain due to improved hygiene, health, nutrition, without wars or epidemics, increasingly qualified jobs and implementation of the welfare state. This, however, since it is expected to continue, could cause problems in the pension and social security system, with greater expenses for the population and increasingly less generational replacement if the birth rate continues at such low figures.

 

Question 2

Distribution of rocks in the Iberian Peninsula. The large lithological domains. Look at the map and answer the following questions: 

a) Using the colors green (1), yellow (2) and red (3) as a reference, identify the three large lithological domains of the Iberian Peninsula.

b) Briefly indicate the main characteristics of each of the types.

c) Explain the modeling forms associated with domain number 3 (red).

d) What area does the Penillanura correspond to?

e) What materials predominate in the Canary Islands?

Answer. a) The color green refers to the siliceous area, yellow to the clayey area, and red to the limestone or karst area.

b) The siliceous area is composed of Paleozoic materials (granite, slate) from the primary era located in western Spain and which causes a particular type of landscape according to its modeling. In high areas where ice and water penetrate between the joints it forms screes or galayos, while in lower areas the alteration of the granite due to erosion causes tor, caballeros rocks, berrocales or domes.

The limestone area is formed by sedimentary rocks such as limestone. These sediments brought by the sea in the secondary era are distributed throughout the Peninsula in elevated areas. It forms types of reliefs such as poljes, lapiaces, gorges, sinkholes or caves due to erosion.

The clayey area is formed by very soft sedimentary materials such as clays or marls from the Quaternary era in many cases that fill sunken areas. Its modeled forms are mainly gullies.

c) They are the following. Lapiaz, lapiaces or lenares: they are long and sharp furrows on the slopes of the mountains, made by the rain and the stream.

Gorges, canyons or gorges: they are deep, rocky valleys, with steep walls close together, through which a river passes.

Poljes: wide valleys with a horizontal bottom, surrounded by mountains, become puddled as they receive water.

Sinks or torcas: they are cavities that form in the rock in places where water stagnates, they are like bathtubs in the rock.

Caves or caverns or grottoes: natural underground cavity excavated in the rock by an underground river, they may have stalactites and stalagmites. SIMAS: natural well with vertical walls that connects the surface with underground galleries.

d) Clay area

e) Volcanic