The Iberian Peninsula, divided between the countries of Spain and Portugal, is separated from the rest of Europe by the Pyrenees Mountains. The core of the peninsula is a plateau called the Meseta, a landscape of plains crossed by several mountain ranges.
Spain has four official languages – Galician, Catalan, Basque as well as Spanish -and several dialects. The north of the country, Spain’s industrial heartland, is cooler and wetter. Central Spain is much drier. Large areas are barren or given over to rough pasture for sheep and goats. Tourist resorts have grown up along the Mediterranean coast. Andalucía is famous for bull-fighting, sherry, orange trees and flamenco dancers.
Portugal has long held close ties with the sea. Famous for its explorers, Portuguese sailors founded colonies in Africa, Asia and America more than 500 years ago. Today, farming and fishing are among the main industries – supplying the world with anchovies, sardines, shellfish, cork and port, a sweet wine produced in the region near Porto. Along the drier south coast is the Algarve, popular with tourists.
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