Canary Islands PAU Geography flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Meseta

The high interior plateau of the Iberian Peninsula, formed on a hercynian basement and tilted westward; it is the structural core around which Spain's mountain ranges and basins are arranged.

Alpine orogeny in Iberia

Cenozoic compression that raised the Pyrenees, Cantabrian Range, Iberian System and Betic Cordillera, folding Mesozoic sediments and closing the Ebro and Guadalquivir foreland basins.

Teide

Stratovolcano on Tenerife rising to 3,718 m, Spain's highest peak, built within the Las Cañadas caldera; the island is an intraplate oceanic volcanic edifice.

Caldera de Taburiente

Large erosional-collapse caldera on La Palma, now a national park; its steep walls and radial barrancos illustrate Canary shield-volcano destruction and recent Cumbre Vieja rift activity.

Azores High

Subtropical anticyclone over the North Atlantic that shifts north in summer, blocking Atlantic fronts and producing Spain's summer drought; its strength links to the North Atlantic Oscillation.

DANA or gota fría

An isolated cold upper-level low over the warm Mediterranean that triggers intense convective rainfall, especially in autumn, causing flash floods in Valencia and Murcia.

Mar de nubes

Trade-wind cloud belt on windward Canary slopes between roughly 600 and 1,500 m; it supplies moisture to laurel forest while the leeward south stays arid.

Canary Current

Cool southward ocean current off northwest Africa that lowers sea surface temperature, stabilises the lower atmosphere and reinforces the trade-wind subsidence inversion around the islands.

Tagus–Segura transfer

Interbasin aqueduct since 1979 moving water from the Tagus headwaters to the Segura basin for irrigation in Murcia and Alicante, a recurring source of political conflict.

Galería

Horizontal tunnel dug into Canary volcanic aquifers to tap groundwater; with wells and desalination it supplies most water on islands lacking permanent rivers.

Barranco

Steep, usually dry Canary valley cut into volcanic terrain that carries sudden flash floods after heavy rain; a key hazard for coastal settlements and roads.

Pluvial Mediterranean regime

River flow pattern typical of Spain's east and south: low, often dry summer flow, autumn flood peaks from convective storms, and high interannual variability.

Laurisilva

Tertiary relict laurel forest of the humid windward Canary islands, best preserved in Garajonay (La Gomera); rich in Macaronesian endemics and dependent on the mar de nubes.

Cardonal-tabaibal

Low-altitude Canary scrub of Euphorbia species and Kleinia, adapted to arid coastal conditions; it forms the basal vegetation belt below the thermophilous and laurel belts.

Dehesa

Open Mediterranean woodland-pasture of holm and cork oak in southwest Iberia, managed for livestock, acorns and cork; a cultural landscape threatened by abandonment and disease.

Parque Nacional

Spain's highest protection category for outstanding natural systems; examples include Teide, Caldera de Taburiente, Garajonay, Timanfaya and Doñana, managed jointly by state and regions.

España vaciada

Term for Spain's depopulating rural interior, where provinces such as Teruel and Soria fall below ten inhabitants per square kilometre, with ageing and service decline.

Dependency ratio

Ratio of dependent population (under 15 and over 64) to working-age population (15–64), usually expressed as a percentage; it rises with ageing and affects welfare costs.

Demographic transition

Model describing shifts from high birth and death rates to low ones; Spain is in the late stage, with very low fertility and natural increase near zero or negative.

Cayuco route

Irregular maritime migration route from West Africa to the Canary Islands in small fishing boats; arrivals fluctuate with Atlantic conditions and border controls.

Ensanche

Nineteenth-century planned urban extension built on a grid outside the old walls, such as Barcelona's Eixample or Madrid's Ensanche; it housed the expanding bourgeoisie and industry.

Casco antiguo

Pre-industrial historic core of a Spanish city, with irregular streets, plaza mayor and former walls; often subject to gentrification and heritage protection today.

Cabildo Insular

Governing body of each Canary island, with devolved powers over roads, water, tourism and social services; seven exist, alongside the two provincial and regional administrations.

Ciudad difusa

Dispersed, low-density urbanisation along coasts and motorways, typical of Canary tourist strips and Spanish metropolitan fringes, mixing housing, hotels and commercial parks.

Rank-size rule

Empirical relation in which a city's population is inversely proportional to its rank; deviations reveal primacy, as with Madrid's dominance in Spain's urban system.

Mediterranean triad

Traditional Spanish crops of cereals, vines and olives, adapted to dry summers; still structure large areas of Castilla-La Mancha, Andalucía and the Ebro basin.

ZEC and REF

Canary special tax regime: Zona Especial Canaria offers low corporate tax for new firms, while the Reserva para Inversiones en Canarias (REF) grants tax relief on reinvested profits.

Regional imbalance

Persistent gap in GDP per capita and employment between dynamic regions (Madrid, Basque Country, Catalonia) and lagging ones (Extremadura, Andalucía, Canary Islands).

Estado de las Autonomías

Spain's decentralised territorial model under the 1978 Constitution, comprising 17 autonomous communities and two autonomous cities, each with its own statute and powers.

Comarca

Intermediate territorial unit between province and municipality, defined by physical, historical or functional coherence; used administratively in Catalonia and Aragón but informally in the Canaries.

Outermost region (RUP)

EU status under Article 349 TFEU for islands and remote territories including the Canary Islands, allowing tailored aid, tax and state-aid rules to offset insularity.

Ombrothermic diagram

Graph plotting monthly temperature and precipitation; a month is dry when precipitation is less than twice the temperature, allowing quick climate classification.

Isopleth map

Map joining points of equal value, such as isohyets for rainfall or isotherms for temperature; useful for showing continuous climatic and physical variables.