Spain has over 6,000 km of coastline surrounding the Iberian Peninsula, Balearic Islands, and territories of Ceuta and Melilla in North Africa. Its coasts include the Bay of Biscay, Atlantic Ocean, and Mediterranean Sea. Spain has 3 major watersheds - Cantabrian, Atlantic, and Mediterranean - containing rivers like the Ebro, Tagus, Guadalquivir, and Guadiana. Notable lakes include Sanabria and Banyoles, while lagoons include Gallocanta and Mar Menor. Spain has a long history of water management through Roman dams and modern reservoirs. Wetlands like Doñana are ecologically important areas.

1. SPAIN
RIVERS, LAKES
AND SEAS

2. THE LOCATION OF SPAIN
Spain is located in the south-west of Europe.
Spanish territory includes:
85% of the Iberian
Peninsula
Balearic Islands
Ceuta and Melilla in
Canary Islands North Africa

3. SPANISH
COASTLINE

4. Spain is surrounded by water (6000 km
of coastline):
• Bay of Biscay (770km of
coastline)
• Atlantic Ocean
- Galician (442km of
coastline)
- Andalusian (294 km of
coastline)
• Mediterranean Sea.
(1663 km of coastline)

5. CANTABRIAN COAST
FRANCE
ATLANTIC COAST
MEDITERRANEAN COAST
STRAIT OF GIBRALTER

6. CANTABRIAN COAST
It extends from the border of
France to Punta de la Estaca de
Bares, in Galicia.
It is steep and rocky and has
many cliffs and rias.

7. ATLANTIC COAST
The Atlantic Coast is divided into two areas:
• The Galician Coast
in the north
•The Andalusian
Coast in the south

8. GALICIAN ATLANTIC
COAST
It extends from Punta de
la Estaca de Bares to Portugal.
It is high, rocky and has many
capes and rias.

9. ANDALUSIAN
ATLANTIC COAST
It extends from Portugal to
the Strait of Gibraltar.
It is low and sandy and has
many beaches, salt marshes and
dunes.

10. MEDITERRANEAN COAST
It extends from the border with France to the Strait of
Gibraltar.
Catalan Coast: has
both steep and rocky
parts, and flat and
sandy parts.
Levante coast: is
mainly flat and sandy.
Andalusian Coast: has
steep and rocky parts
and flat, sandy parts.

11. CANARY AND BALEARIC
ISLANDS

12. SPAIN’S WATERSHEDS

13. WATERSHEDS
A watershed is an area of land that water flows
over on its way to the sea.
Spain has 3 watersheds:
o Cantabrian
watershed
o Atlantic watershed
o Mediterranean
watershed

14. Cantabrian Watershed
Mediterranean Watershed
Atlantic Watershed

15. CANTABRIAN WATERSHED
The rivers that flow into the Bay of Biscay are
short as they start in the mountains near the coast.
Their flow is regular and high due to abundant rainfall.

16. ATLANTIC WATERSHED
• The rivers are long and carry high volumes of
water that flow into the Atlantic Ocean.

17. Rivers that flow into the Atlantic
Ocean can be divided into:
• Short with high flow due to
Galician Rivers
abundant rainfall.
Rivers that cross • Long with high but
the Meseta irregular flow.
Andalusian • Usually long with very low
Rivers flow.

18. MEDITERRANEAN WATERSHED
• Most of the rivers that carry water to the
Mediterranean Sea are short and have limited
and irregluar water flow, except the Ebro.

19. SPAIN’S
RIVERS

20. RIVERS
OF THE
CANTABRIAN
WATERSHED

21. NARCEA RIVER

26. Narcea River meets Nalon River

27. NALÓN RIVER
The longest river of Asturias. It has the most abundant
flow

28. A valley through which
it flows.

29. NALÓN RIVER, LANGREO

30. DEVA RIVER

32. Where Deva River meets the Bay of Biscay

33. NERVIÓN RIVER

35. Nervion River, by the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao

37. BIDASOA RIVER

38. RIVERS
OF THE ATLANTIC
WATERSHED

39. GALICIAN RIVERS

40. MIÑO RIVER

41. Where it meets the Atlantic Ocean

42. SIL RIVER CANYON

44. ULLA RIVER
LÉREZ RIVER
TAMBRE RIVER

45. XALLAS RIVER
Xallas River is a rare example in Europe: it dies as a waterfall
when it flows into the sea.
Unfortunally, an energy company keeps the river to itself and
there is almost no water in the fall. The company delights us "opening"
the waterfall 2 or 3 hours on weekends and during the summer.

46. RIVERS
THAT
CROSS THE
MESETA

47. ARRIBES DEL DUERO

48. The Duoro river has the
most abundant flow in
Spain.

49. ALEADÁVILA DAM, SALAMANCA
(Middle course of Duoro River)

50. TAGUS RIVER The longest river in Spain.

51. TAGUS RIVER IN MONFRAGÜE NATIONAL
PARK

52. Its course has been altered by
human activity: construction of
reservoirs and Tagus-Segura
water-diversion system.
Its flow increases in Portugal
due to rainfall.

53. Tagus River in Alcántara

54. Tagus River in Toledo

55. TAGUS RIVER
ARANJUEZ, MADRID

56. GUADIANA RIVER

57. GUADIANA RIVER
It partly flows
underground “Ojos del
Guadiana".
La Serena
Reservoir. The
biggest in Spain

58. Guadiana River, Medellín

59. ANDALUSIAN RIVERS

60. GUADALQUIVIR RIVER

62. GUADALUIVIR RIVER,
CAZORLA MOUNTAIN RANGE

63. GUADALUIVIR
ESTUARY

64. Guadalquivir River, Seville

66. EBRO RIVER

68. EBRO RIVER, ZARAGOZA

69. EBRO RIVER DELTA

70. TER RIVER

71. LLOBREGAT RIVER

72. LLOBREGAT RIVER

73. JÚCAR RIVER

76. RÍO TURIA
TURIA RIVER

77. TURIA
RIVER

79. SEGURA RIVER

80. RÍO
SEGURA

81. Due to the lack of water in
the Southwest the Tajo-
Segura water-diversion
system was constructed.
This affected the
Tajo, Guadiana, Júcar and
Segura Basins.

82. THE SIPHON

83. BOOSTER PIPING AT BOLARQUE STATION

84. CIGÜELA
AQUEDUCT

85. TAJO-SEGURA
WATER-DIVERSION
SYSTEM
VILLAREJO
CANAL

86. Spanish lakes are small in comparison to European
lakes.
There are 444 mountain lakes
There are 82 karst lakes

87. The biggest lake in Spain is Sanabria (Zamora)

89. The second biggest lake is Banyoles in Gerona

91. LAGOONS

92. The largest inland lagoon of shallow saltwater is
Gallocanta in Zaragoza

94. The second largest inland lagoon of shallow saltwater
is Fuentedepiedra in Malaga.

96. The Mar Menor (Murcia) is the largest salt water
lagoon in Europe

98. Albufera (Valencia) is a freshwater lagoon on the
coast of Spain.

101. ROMAN DAMS
(1st-2nd century AD)
PROSERPINA
DAM, BADAJOZ
CORNALVO
DAM, BADAJOZ

102. La Serena. It’s the 3rd biggest of Europe. Found on
the Guadiana Basin (1985-1990)

103. Alcantara on the Tajo Basin (1969)

104. Almendra. Duero Basin (1970)

105. Buendía. Tajo Basin (1957)

106. Mequinenza. Ebro Basin (1957-1964)

107. Spain is home to almost all of Europe's
saline steppe wetlands.

108. Tablas de Daimiel. Ciudad Real
Groundwater extraction for irrigated agriculture has almost led to the
loss of the internationally important wetland of the Tablas de Damiel
marshes.

109. Doñana (Huelva) is one of the largest and most
important remaining wetlands in Europe.
In April 1998 there was an accidental spillage of toxic mining waste, which
contaminated a large area of these wetlands.

110. “Water is life's matter and
matrix, mother and medium. There
is no life without water.”
Albert Szent-Gyorgvi (Hungarian Biochemist 1937)
THE END