Catalan Coastal Depression

Last updated March 18, 2019

Geomorphologic map of Catalonia:
Pyrenees
Pre-Pyrenees
Catalan Central Depression
Smaller mountain ranges of the Central Depression
Catalan Transversal Range
Catalan Pre-Coastal Range
Catalan Coastal Range
Catalan Coastal Depression and other coastal and pre-coastal plains Catmorfo.png — Geomorphologic map of Catalonia:
   Pyrenees
   Pre-Pyrenees
   Catalan Central Depression
  Smaller mountain ranges of the Central Depression
   Catalan Transversal Range
   Catalan Pre-Coastal Range
   Catalan Coastal Range
  Catalan Coastal Depression and other coastal and pre-coastal plains
The **Pyrenees** is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between Spain and France. Reaching a height of 3,404 metres (11,168 ft) altitude at the peak of Aneto, the range separates the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of continental Europe, and extends for about 491 km (305 mi) from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean Sea.
The **Pre-Pyrenees** are the foothills of the Pyrenees.
The **Catalan Central Depression** is a natural depression between the Pre-Pyrenees and the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range in Spain. It widens towards the west, linking with the Ebro Depression, Catalan: *Depressió de l'Ebre*, of which it could be considered an eastern extension. The Catalan Central Depression is about 180 km long with an average width of 50 km.

The Catalan Coastal Depression, Catalan : Depressió Litoral Catalana, is a natural depression between the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range and the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Catalan Mediterranean System.

Catalan is a Western Romance language derived from Vulgar Latin and named after the medieval Principality of Catalonia, in northeastern modern Spain. It is the only official language of Andorra, and a co-official language of the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencia. It also has semi-official status in the Italian commune of Alghero. It is also spoken in the eastern strip of Aragon, in some villages of Region of Murcia called Carche and in the Pyrénées-Orientales department of France. These territories are often called Països Catalans or "Catalan Countries".

A depression in geology is a landform sunken or depressed below the surrounding area. Depressions form by various mechanisms.

Catalan Pre-Coastal Range system of mountain ranges running parallel to the Mediterranean Sea coast in Catalonia

The Catalan Pre-Coastal Range is a system of mountain ranges running parallel to the Mediterranean Sea coast in Catalonia. It is part of the Catalan Mediterranean System. Its main axis runs between the Catalan Transversal Range and the Serra de l'Espina, which connects with the Ports de Tortosa-Beseit, part of the Iberian System. The highest point is 1.706,7 m at the Montseny Massif.

Geography

The Catalan Coastal Depression runs roughly in a NE-SW direction along parts of the following comarques: Empordà, Gironès, Selva, Maresme, Vallès, Barcelonès, Baix Llobregat, Penedès, Tarragonès, Baix Camp and Baix Ebre.

Emporda is a natural and historical region of Catalonia, Spain, divided since 1936 into two comarques, Alt Empordà and Baix Empordà.

Gironès is a comarca (county) in eastern Catalonia, Spain, bordering Selva, Baix Empordà, Alt Empordà, Pla de l'Estany and Garrotxa. As of 2008, more than half of the comarca's 175,148 inhabitants live in the capital, Girona, which is also the capital of the province of Girona.

Selva is a coastal comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain, located between the mountain range known as the Serralada Transversal or Puigsacalm and the Costa Brava. Unusually, it is divided between the provinces of Girona and Barcelona, with Fogars de la Selva being part of Barcelona province, and all other municipalities falling inside Girona province. Also unusually, its capital, Santa Coloma de Farners, is no longer among its larger municipalities, with the coastal towns of Blanes and Lloret de Mar having far surpassed it in size.

The Catalan Coastal Depression is about 300 km long and 20 km wide on average^[1] Some of the main Catalan cities are located in this area.

Ecology

Much of the surface of the Catalan Coastal Depression is subject to severe land degradation, owing maily to urban sprawl.

Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by a combination of human-induced processes acting upon the land. It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable. Natural hazards are excluded as a cause; however human activities can indirectly affect phenomena such as floods and bush fires.

Urban sprawl or suburban sprawl mainly refers to the unrestricted growth in many urban areas of housing, commercial development, and roads over large expanses of land, with little concern for urban planning. In addition to describing a particular form of urbanization, the term also relates to the social and environmental consequences associated with this development. In Continental Europe the term "peri-urbanisation" is often used to denote similar dynamics and phenomena, although the term urban sprawl is currently being used by the European Environment Agency. There is widespread disagreement about what constitutes sprawl and how to quantify it. For example, some commentators measure sprawl only with the average number of residential units per acre in a given area. But others associate it with decentralization, discontinuity, segregation of uses, and so forth.

Related Research Articles

Baix Llobregat is a comarca (county) on the coast of Catalonia, Spain. Its capital is Sant Feliu de Llobregat.

Barcelona is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, and by the Mediterranean Sea. Its area is 7,726 km² (2,983 sq mi). 5,609,350 people live in the province, of whom about 30% (1,620,343) live within the administrative limits of the city of Barcelona, which itself is contained in the Barcelona metropolitan area.

Alt Camp is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of the three comarques into which Camp de Tarragona was divided in the comarcal division of 1936.

Bages is a comarca (county) in the center of Catalonia, Spain. It includes a subcomarca, Lluçanès.

Baix Empordà is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of the two into which Empordà was divided in the comarcal division of 1936, the other one being Alt Empordà. It is popularly known as L'Empordanet.

Berguedà is an inland comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain, lying partly in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, and partly in the Catalan Central Depression.

Conca de Barberà is a comarca (county) in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. Its total area is 650.24 km² (251.1 sq mi). At its creation in 1936, it contained 23 municipalities, but in 1990, several of these were amalgamated; Rojals was combined with Montblanc, and Montbrió de la Marca was amalgamated with Sarral. Also in 1990, Vallfogona de Riucorb was moved from the Segarra comarca. This resulted in the current total of 22 municipalities.

Tarragonès is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of the three comarques formed in the 1936 comarcal division of Camp de Tarragona. It lies on the Mediterranean coast, between the comarques of Baix Penedès to the northeast and Baix Camp to the south. Over 60% of the population live in the capital, Tarragona.

C-25 or Eix Transversal is a 280 km long primary highway in Catalonia, Spain. It crosses the Catalan Transversal Range mountainous region, communicating the northern end of the Catalan Coastal Depression with the Catalan Central Depression.

Penedès is a natural and historical region of the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. It is located in the south of the Principality of Catalonia between the pre-coastal mountain range and the Mediterranean Sea. The comarcal division of the Generalitat de Catalunya in 1936 and 1987, divided Penedès into three administrative comarques: Alt Penedès, Baix Penedès and Garraf, and their capitals are Vilafranca del Penedès, el Vendrell and Vilanova i la Geltrú.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Catalonia:

Penedès is a Spanish Denominación de Origen, DO, for wines in Catalonia (Spain). Penedès DO includes all Penedès region and municipalities of four other counties: Anoia, Alt Camp, Baix Llobregat and Tarragonès. The area is framed by the coastal hills of the Garraf Massif and the higher inland mountains which skirt the Central Depression.

The Catalan Transversal Range is a system of minor mountain ranges at the eastern end of the Pre-Pyrenees, between the Osona and Garrotxa comarques. The existence of the Catalan Transversal Range has made communications in the northern areas of Catalonia difficult in the past, especially between Northeastern Catalonia and Western Catalonia, a problem that has been partly solved with the development of the Eix Transversal.

Catalan Mediterranean System mountain in Spain

The Catalan Mediterranean System, also known as Mediterranean System, Transversal Ibero-Pyrenaean System, and Catalanid System, is a wide coastal geographical region in Catalonia. It is made up of a double system of coastal mountain chains: The Catalan Coastal Range and the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range, as well as the Catalan Coastal Depression and other coastal and pre-coastal plains located among those mountain ranges.

The Plain of Vic is a 30 km long depression located at the eastern end of the Catalan Central Depression in the Osona comarca. It is named after the town of Vic, an important and ancient urban center in this natural region that lies in the midst of the plain. Other significant towns in the plain are Manlleu and Tona.

The Gaià is a 59 km long river in Tarragona Province, Catalonia.

The Museum of the Mediterranean is a museum located in Torroella de Montgrí, founded in 2003, in an attempt to become an area for knowledge, reflection and research for the problems and worries that affect citizens in the 21st century. It is housed in Can Quintana, a 16th-century building. It is dedicated to the knowledge and communication of the Mediterranean Sea and uses the natural sounds, human sounds and music to show the reality of the land, the history and the culture of the village of Torroella, connected with the others Mediterranean cultures and towns. It pretends to become a site to think about the nearest territory and the main issues that affect the different Mediterranean nations.

References

↑ "Mapa Topogràfic de Catalunya". Institut Cartogràfic de Catalunya. Retrieved May 22, 2010. .

External links

Coordinates: 41°28′58″N02°16′54″E / 41.48278°N 2.28167°E / 41.48278; 2.28167

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[1] "Mapa Topogràfic de Catalunya". Institut Cartogràfic de Catalunya. Retrieved May 22, 2010. .