Occupying roughly 85% of the Iberian Peninsula, Spain is the second-largest country in Western Europe. It is bordered by France and the microstate of Andorra to the northeast, Portugal to the west, and the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar to the south. Spain also shares land borders with Morocco via its two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla. The national territory includes two major archipelagos: the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast.
Spain's geography is remarkably diverse, characterized by a massive central plateau known as the *Meseta Central*, which is bordered and intersected by various mountain ranges. The country's landscape is sharply divided into the "Green Spain" of the north and northwest, which receives abundant rainfall and features lush forests and pastures, and the drier, more arid regions of the south and east. Spain's extensive coastline spans both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, offering everything from rugged, cliff-lined shores to expansive sandy beaches.
