Portugal and Spain - November 26th, 2011
The full version of this image offers a detailed view of the contours of the Cantabrian Mountains, one of the main systems of mountain ranges of the Iberian Peninsula. They extend for more than 180 miles (300 km) across northern Spain, from the western limit of the Pyrenees to the edges of the Galician Massif close to Galicia, along the coast of the Cantabrian Sea.
The Cantabrian Mountains stretch east-west, nearly parallel to the sea, and make a sharp divide between “Green Spain” to the north, and the dry central plateau. The north facing slopes receive heavy cyclonic rainfall from the Bay of Biscay, whereas the southern slopes are in a rain shadow.
