Iberian Peninsula (redirected from Hyberian peninsula)

Iberian Peninsula, c.230,400 sq mi (596,740 sq km), SW Europe, separated from the rest of Europe by the Pyrenees. Comprising Spain and Portugal, it is washed on the N and W by the Atlantic Ocean and on the S and E by the Mediterranean Sea; the Strait of Gibraltar separates it from Africa. The Iberian Peninsula is dominated by the Meseta (central plateau), a great uplifted fault block (average elevation 2,000 ft/610 m) ringed and crossed by mountain ranges. It covers about two thirds of the peninsula. Coastal lowlands, the site of the major industrial cities, surround the primarily agrarian-oriented Meseta. Climatically, the Iberian Peninsula has hot summers, cold winters, and limited precipitation. Five major rivers drain the peninsula.

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Iberian Peninsula

 or Iberia

Peninsula, southwestern Europe, occupied by Spain and Portugal. Its name derives from its ancient inhabitants whom the Greeks called Iberians, probably after the Ebro (Iberus) River, the peninsula's second longest river. The Pyrenees form a land barrier in the northeast from the rest of Europe, and in the south at Gibraltar the peninsula is separated from North Africa by a narrow strait. Its western and northern coasts are bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, and its eastern coast by the Mediterranean Sea. It includes Cape da Roca, in Portugal, the most westerly point of continental Europe.

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Iberian Peninsula

a peninsula of SW Europe, occupied by Spain and Portugal

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Iberian Peninsula 

a peninsula in Southwest Europe. With an area of 582,000 sq km, it is the second largest peninsula in Europe after the Scandinavian Peninsula.

The Iberian Peninsula is washed in the north by the Bay of Biscay, in the west and southwest by the Atlantic Ocean, and in the northeast, east, and southeast by the Mediterranean Sea; in the south it is separated from Africa by the Strait of Gibraltar. The peninsula is mountainous, its outline is simple, and its coastline relatively smooth. Only in the northwest are there deeply indented ria-type coasts. The land surface is occupied chiefly by the Meseta and Galician plateaus and by linearly extending mountain ranges: the Pyrenees, the Cantabrian, Catalonian, and Iberian ranges, and the Andalusian Mountains. The highest point is Mount Mulacén in the Sierra Nevada range (3,478 m). There are small lowland areas along the peninsula’s boundaries.

The climate of the Iberian Peninsula is primarily Mediterranean. In the peninsula’s continental regions it is arid, while in the western regions it is more humid and closer to an oceanic climate. The chief rivers are the Tagus, Guadiana, Douro, Ebro, and Guadalquivir. Vegetation is primarily scrub of the maquis and garigue types. The Iberian Peninsula is occupied by Spain, Portugal, Andorra, and the British crown colony of Gibraltar.