Iberian Peninsula Relief: Formation, Features, and Types
General Features of the Iberian Peninsula Relief
The main features of the Iberian Peninsula’s relief are:
- High average altitude: 660 meters above sea level. 90% of the territory is over 200 meters above sea level. This elevation is due to the high plains and the numerous mountains in Spain. This altitude impacts agriculture.
- Central plateau organizing the relief: This plateau is an old, high, solid, and slightly tilted-toward-the-Atlantic central block. It dictates the altitude and arrangement of surrounding
Basalt Formation and Mantle Melting Processes
Basalts (IC 35-70)
Mode of Occurrence
- MORB: Tholeiitic
- Plateau: Tholeiitic dykes, cordon fissure lodes, possibly calc-alkaline
- OIB: Tholeiitic and calc-alkaline
- Subduction Zones: Differentiated rocks (possibly with hydrous minerals), tholeiitic calc-alkaline (young arcs). Example: ZVS N = 33-34°30′ NS, hydrated, T = 34°30′-37°NE, 2 pyroxenes + biotite + amphibole + minor olivine. Mocha C NE = 37-41°30′, anhydrous reaction with 2 pyroxenes + contamination. S = 41°30′-46°NE, hydrated with clinopyroxene.
Environmental Impact and Resource Management
Environmental Impact: The Wounded Planet
The Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution marked a turning point in resource exploitation. Growing industries needed increasing amounts of raw materials to power their growth. This demand led to the development of more sophisticated systems for obtaining and processing resources.
Resource Classification
- Renewable Resources: Inexhaustible resources like solar or wind energy.
- Non-Renewable Resources: Resources available in limited quantities, such as
Modern Industry and its Impact: From Raw Materials to Global Economy
Industry: From Artisanal to Modern
Artisanal Craft Workshops: Characterized by handmade products, low productivity, craftsmen organized in guilds, and no division of labor.
Modern Industry: Employs machines and plants, resulting in higher product output. Workers are organized in unions, with specialized roles and a division of labor.
Raw Materials
These are natural resources transformed by industrial processes. They can be:
- Animal Origin: Leather
- Plant Origin: Rubber, cotton
- Mineral Origin: Metallic (iron)
Metamorphic and Sedimentary Rocks: Formation and Classification
Facies and Metamorphic Rocks
A metamorphic facies comprises a set of different metamorphic rocks that have withstood similar pressures and temperatures. Two different initial rocks subjected to similar metamorphic conditions will result in two different metamorphic rocks with mostly different minerals, but with some identical. Although the textures of metamorphic rocks usually distinguish them from magmatic or sedimentary rocks, the following types are common:
Granoblastic Texture
Equivalent to the
Read MoreBiodiversity, Climate, and Environmental Threats
The Wealth of Life: Biodiversity
We depend entirely on plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms. They feed us, provide us with medicines and other goods that enhance the quality of our life and promise a productive and viable future. However, a quarter of all species on Earth may be lost in the next three decades.
Every year, we lose 1.5 to 2 percent of the remaining tropical rainforests due to slash-and-burn practices. 24 billion tons of topsoil are lost annually, and with over 90 million people
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