Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (/aɪˈbɪəriən/),[a] also known as Iberia,[b] is a peninsula in South-western Europe, defining the westernmost edge of Eurasia. It is divided between Continental Portugal and Peninsular Spain, comprising most of the region, as well as Andorra, Gibraltar, and a small part of Southern France (French Cerdagne). With an area of approximately 583,254 square kilometres (225,196 sq mi),[1] and a population of roughly 53 million,[2] it is the second-largest European peninsula by area, after the Scandinavian Peninsula.
"Iberia" redirects here. For other uses, see Iberia (disambiguation) and Iberian (disambiguation).
Native names
- Península Ibérica (Spanish)
- Península Ibérica (Portuguese)
- Peninsula Iberica (Aragonese)
- Península Ibérica (Asturian)
- Iberiar Penintsula (Basque)
- Península Ibèrica (Catalan)
- Iberian Peninsula (English)
- Península Ibérica (Extremaduran)
- Péninsule Ibérique (French)
- Península Ibérica (Galician)
- Peninsula Iberica (Occitan)
- Península Eibérica (Mirandese)
- Península Ibérica (Spanish)
- Península Ibérica (Portuguese)
- Peninsula Iberica (Aragonese)
- Península Ibérica (Asturian)
- Iberiar Penintsula (Basque)
- Península Ibèrica (Catalan)
- Iberian Peninsula (English)
- Península Ibérica (Extremaduran)
- Péninsule Ibérique (French)
- Península Ibérica (Galician)
- Peninsula Iberica (Occitan)
- Península Eibérica (Mirandese)
583,254 km2 (225,196 sq mi)
3,478 m (11411 ft)
Iberian
c. 53 million
Transportation[edit]
Both Spain and Portugal have traditionally used a non-standard rail gauge (the 1,668 mm Iberian gauge) since the construction of the first railroads in the 19th century. Spain has progressively introduced the 1,435 mm standard gauge in its new high-speed rail network (one of the most extensive in the world),[189] inaugurated in 1992 with the Madrid–Seville line, followed to name a few by the Madrid–Barcelona (2008), Madrid–Valencia (2010), an Alicante branch of the latter (2013) and the connection to France of the Barcelona line.[190] Portugal however suspended all the high-speed rail projects in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, putting an end for the time being to the possibility of a high-speed rail connection between Lisbon, Porto and Madrid.[191]
Handicapped by a mountainous range (the Pyrenees) hindering the connection to the rest of Europe, Spain (and subsidiarily Portugal) only has two meaningful rail connections to France able for freight transport, located at both ends of the mountain range.[192] An international rail line across the Central Pyrenees linking Zaragoza and the French city of Pau through a tunnel existed in the past; however, an accident in the French part destroyed a stretch of the railroad in 1970 and the Canfranc Station has been a cul-de-sac since then.[193]
There are four points connecting the Portuguese and Spanish rail networks: Valença do Minho–Tui, Vilar Formoso–Fuentes de Oñoro, Marvão-Beirã–Valencia de Alcántara and Elvas–Badajoz.[194]
The prospect of the development (as part of a European-wide effort) of the Central, Mediterranean and Atlantic rail corridors is expected to be a way to improve the competitiveness of the ports of Tarragona, Valencia, Sagunto, Bilbao, Santander, Sines and Algeciras vis-à-vis the rest of Europe and the World.[195]
In 1980, Morocco and Spain started a joint study on the feasibility of a fixed link (tunnel or bridge) across the Strait of Gibraltar, possibly through a connection of Punta Paloma with Cape Malabata.[196] Years of studies have, however, made no real progress thus far.[197]
A transit point for many submarine cables, the Fibre-optic Link Around the Globe, Europe India Gateway, and the SEA-ME-WE 3 feature landing stations in the Iberian Peninsula.[198] The West Africa Cable System, Main One, SAT-3/WASC, Africa Coast to Europe also land in Portugal.[198] MAREA, a high capacity communication transatlantic cable, connects the north of the Iberian Peninsula (Bilbao) to North America (Virginia), whereas Grace Hopper is an upcoming cable connecting the Iberian Peninsula (Bilbao) to the UK and the US intended to be operative by 2022[199] and EllaLink is an upcoming high-capacity communication cable expected to connect the Peninsula (Sines) to South America and the mammoth 2Africa project intends to connect the peninsula to the United Kingdom, Europe and Africa (via Portugal and Barcelona) by 2023–24.[200][201]
Two gas pipelines: the Pedro Duran Farell pipeline and (more recently) the Medgaz (from, respectively, Morocco and Algeria) link the Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula, providing Spain with Algerian natural gas.[202][203] However the contract for the first pipeline expires on 31 October 2021 and—amidst a tense climate of Algerian–Moroccan relations—there are no plans to renew it.[204]
Economy[edit]
The official currency across Iberia is the Euro, with the exception of Gibraltar, which uses the Gibraltar Pound (at parity with Sterling).[187]
Major industries include mining, tourism, small farms, and fishing. Because the coast is so long, fishing is popular, especially sardines, tuna and anchovies. Most of the mining occurs in the Pyrenees mountains. Commodities mined include: iron, gold, coal, lead, silver, zinc, and salt.
Regarding their role in the global economy, both the microstate of Andorra and the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar have been described as tax havens.[205]
The Galician region of Spain, in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula, became one of the biggest entry points of cocaine in Europe, on a par with the Dutch ports.[206] Hashish is smuggled from Morocco via the Strait of Gibraltar.[206]