SPAIN, a kingdom in the S. W. of Europe, forming with Portugal the great S. W. peninsula of Europe. It is sepa rated from France on the N. E. by the chain of the Pyrenees, and is otherwise bounded by Portugal and the Atlantic and Mediterranean. In greatest breadth N. and S. it measures 540 miles; greatest length E. and W., 620 miles. Continental area, 190,055 square miles. Including the Canary and Balearic islands and north and west African possessions, 194, 783 square miles. Pop., about 20,400,000. The war with the United States deprived her of Cuba, Porto Rico, the Philippine and Sulu islands, and Guam; and a treaty with Germany, Feb. 8, 1899, of the Marianne (or Ladrone), Caroline, and Pelew islands. On Nov. 8, 1900, Spain sold the islands of Cagayan and Sibutu to the United States for $100,000. Her last remaining colonies are in Africa with pop. 292,000. Spain formerly com prised the ancient kingdoms and provinces of New and Old Castile, Leon, Asturias, Galicia, Estremadura, Anda lusia, Aragon, Murcia, Valencia, Cata lonia, Navarre, and in the Basque Provinces. These since 1854, for admin istrative purposes, have been divided into 49 provinces, including the Balearic and Canary islands. The capital is Madrid; next in population are Barcelona, Valen cia, Seville, and Malaga.
Physical Features.—The coast line is not much broken, but sweeps round in gentle curves, presenting few remark able headlands or indentations. The interior is considerably diversified, but its characteristic feature is its central table-land, which has an elevation of from 2,200 to 2,800 feet, and a superfi cial extent of not less than 90,000 square miles. It descends gradually on the W. toward Portugal; but on the E., toward the provinces of Catalonia and Valen cia, it presents an abrupt steep or line of cliffs, with the character of an an cient sea margin. It is bounded on the N. by the Asturian and Cantabrian mountains, reaching an elevation of about 8,500 feet; on the S. by the Sierra Morena; and is crossed from E. to W. by the Douro, Tagus, and Guadiana rivers. Between these limits it is inter sected by two important ranges of mountains running nearly E. and W.,
the N. being the Guadarrama with its continuations, separating the valleys of the Douro and Tagus, and attaining in one of its peaks a height of 8,200 feet; and the S., the Sierra de Toledo and its continuation between the Tagus and the Guadiana. S. of the Sierra Morena is the valley of the Guadalquivir river. Be sides these ranges there is the chain of the Pyrenees, which, though partly be longing to France, presents its boldest front to Spain and has its loftiest sum mits within it. The highest peak in the ranges is La Maladetta or Pic de Ne thou (11,165 feet) ; but the highest peak in Spain is Mulhacen (11,420 feet), belonging to the Sierra Nevada in the S. The latter chain possesses some of the wildest scenery in Europe. The chief rivers enter the Atlantic, but in the N. E. is the Ebro, a tributary of the Medi terranean. The Douro, Tagus, and Guadiana belong partly to Portugal. The lakes are few and unimportant.
Alinerals.—The whole country teems with mineral wealth, the minerals in cluding in greater or less quantities gold, silver, quicksilver, lead, copper, iron, zinc, calamine, antimony, tin, coal, etc. The exploitation of the minerals has, however, in recent times been most ly accomplished by foreign capital, while most of the ore is exported to foreign countries in its raw state. The quantity and value of the principal minerals produced in 1918 was as follows: An thracite coal, 377,216 metric tons, valued at 21,226,434 pesetas; copper, 1,007,668 metric tons, valued at 19,121, 407 pesetas; iron, 4,692,651 metric tons, valued at 52,889,055 pesetas; bituminous coal, 6,134,986 metric tons, valued at 341.251,718 pesetas; lignite coal, 726,848 metric tons, valued at 26,581,717 pese tas; lead, 216,133 metric tons, valued at 60,751,403 pesetas. Other mineral products are asphalt, mercury, sulphur, zinc, phosphate, manganese, silver, salt, and wolfram. There are about 135,000 persons engaged in the mineral industry. The total value of the output of 1918 was 545,916,704 pesetas.