Industry and Geography Terms
Terms
Industry
Industry is the activity that transforms raw materials into semi-finished or processed goods using a source of energy. Thus, its foundations are raw materials and energy sources.
Raw Materials
Raw materials are resources that the industry transforms into developed or semi-finished products.
- Raw materials come from organic farming, livestock, and forestry.
- Raw materials are extracted from mineral deposits or areas of mineral concentration.
Metal Minerals
Metal minerals are used for basic industry and mechanics. In Spain today, its production is limited, requiring imports. (Iron, zinc, lead)
Non-metallic Minerals
Non-metallic minerals are destined for the construction and chemical industry. (Celestine, sea salt, and rock salt)
Quarried Stone
Quarried stone (limestone, clay, sand, and gravel) is used in construction.
Mineral Resources & Reserves
Mineral resources are mineral deposits discovered or yet to be discovered that can be exploited with current techniques or not.
Mineral reserves are all known resources that can be exploited with current techniques.
Energy Sources
Energy sources are resources that provide the force necessary to carry out work. Therefore, their use is essential in all economic sectors and especially in industry, which uses them to transform raw materials.
Industrial Sectors
Industrial sectors are branches of industrial activity that have in common the raw materials, techniques, and machinery used. They can be:
- Base industry: They transform raw materials into semi-finished products that are then processed by other industries.
- Consumer goods industry: They manufacture goods to be used directly by consumers.
- Equipment industries: They generate goods and machines needed for production.
Holding
Holding: A holding company that controls other companies by owning all or a significant portion of their shares.
Industrial Restructuring
Industrial restructuring is an industrial restructuring policy to deal with the crisis produced since 1973. It aims to ensure the viability of industries in difficulty by adapting to the new technology cycle and the market on competitive terms. It caused unemployment. In Spain, it was delayed until 1983 and affected the mature sector.
Re-industrialization
Re-industrialization is an industrial restructuring policy to address the crisis of 1973 production. It seeks to reshape the industrial structure of the areas affected by the conversion. In 1983, it created the urgent areas of reindustrialization (ZUR): Galicia, Bilbao, Barcelona, Cadiz, and Madrid.
Geography Terms
Centralism (Political/Administrative)
Centralism is a territorial joint system of a state characterized by governing and managing political space through a single center of power. Spain has practiced centralism up to the 1978 Constitution, with the center in Madrid.
Autonomous Region
Autonomous Region is a local authority with political autonomy that is configured in the Spanish State with the approval of the 1978 Constitution. Spain is composed of 17 regions with skills acquired as transfers.
Autonomous History
Autonomous history: Regional entities that already had self-government institutions during the 2nd Republic and after the 1978 Constitution have immediate access to top-level autonomy. These are Catalonia, Galicia, and the Basque Country.
Geographical Coordinates
Geographical coordinates: A spatial reference system that allows the location of a point on Earth on a map.
Regional Disparities
Regional disparities: Disparities that occur between different regions. They can respond to economic, political, demographic, and social criteria. In Spain, there are large regional disparities, with some of the outlying regions and Madrid being the most developed, and the other interior regions being the most backward.
Geographical Determinism
Geographical determinism: A current geographical thought according to which physical factors directly affect man’s actions.
Ecuador
Ecuador: An imaginary line that divides the Earth into two hemispheres. It is located at the parallel 0°.
Map Scale
Map scale: The relationship between the measured length on the map and the corresponding length in reality.
State of Autonomy
State of autonomy: The political-administrative configuration of the Spanish State in 17 autonomous regions as a result of the reorganization of the state since the 1978 Constitution. It represents a decentralization of political power.
Territorial Compensation Fund
Territorial compensation fund: Public investment aid given to regions with a per capita income below 75% of the EU average. The approved capital is subject to compliance with the investments. In Spain, these regions are Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla-León, Extremadura, Aragon, Galicia, Murcia, and inland Andalusia.
Physical Geography
Physical geography: The branch of geography that studies physical and natural phenomena.
Human Geography
Human geography: The branch of geography that studies populations.
Isoline
Isoline: A line or curve used on maps to connect points of the same intensity.
Latitude
Latitude: Angular distance from any point on Earth to the Equator. It will always be North or South and may have up to 90 degrees.
Longitude
Longitude: Angular distance of any point on Earth to the meridian of Greenwich. It may be East or West and may have up to 180°.
Topographic Map
Topographic map: A basic map that represents the most relevant human and physical aspects of an area of the country.
Portulano
Portulano: Thematic maps containing the location of the most notable coastal features with sea routes and distances. They were made in the Middle Ages by Venetians, Genoese, Catalan, and Majorcan Cartographic School.
County
County: A territorial and administrative division of a state. The territorial division of the Spanish State was conducted in 1833 by Javier de Burgos, Minister of Queen Elizabeth II.
Tropics
Tropics: Either parallel at 23° 32′ separating the hot zone from the temperate zone.
Depression
Depression: A depressed zone in relation to the territory that surrounds it. In the Tertiary period, the interior depressions of the Iberian Peninsula were formed, including the Douro, the Tagus, and the Guadiana, and the pre-Alpine external Ebro and Guadalquivir.
Endorheic
Endorheic: An effect that occurs when watercourses do not flow into the sea but go to inland lakes or ponds or are lost by evaporation or seepage.
Iberia Clay
Iberia clay: It is composed of less resistant sedimentary materials deposited in the late Tertiary and the Quaternary. It comprises many of the depressions of the northern and southern sub-plateau, the depressions of the Ebro and Guadalquivir, and the Mediterranean coastal floodplains.
Iberia Limestone
Iberia limestone: It is formed by sediments of the Secondary Era folded by the Alpine Orogeny. The limestone soils form a “z” that extends backward through the pre-Pyrenees, the Basque Mountains, east of the Cantabrian Mountains, the Iberian System, part of the Cordillera Costero-Catalana, and the Cordillera Subbéticas. Its rock is predominantly limestone.
Silicic Iberia
Silicic Iberia: It consists of rocks of the Primary Era and is located in the west of the peninsula with branches to the Iberian, the Cordillera Costero-Catalana, and the Penibético System. Its rock is predominantly granite.
Plateau
Plateau: A high and flat surface caused by erosion. It includes the Central System, Montes de Toledo, the Galician Massif, the western Cantabrian Mountains, the Iberian System, and Sierra Morena.
Karst
Karst: Formations caused by the action of water dissolving limestone. It has different forms: Lenar, sinkholes, canyons, poljes, caves, etc.
Glacial
Glacial: Formation caused by the erosion of ice masses, which will cause dips in the form of “U” and occurs in the highest points.
Volcanic Terrain
Volcanic terrain: Igneous rock formations that emerge as a result of the erosion of volcanoes. It is located in the Canary Islands, Calatraba Fields in Olot, and the Cabo de Gata.
Alpine Orogeny
Alpine orogeny: A tectonic phase of the Tertiary period. It caused the younger mountains like the Pyrenees, the Basque mountains, the Cordillera Costero-Catalana, the Betic Cordilleras, the depressions of the Ebro and Guadalquivir, and reactivated Paleozoic materials and Sierra Morena.
Coastal Plans
Coastal plans: Low and sandy coasts sloping gently towards the sea, formed by alluvial or marine sediments. In Spain, we have the Gulf of Lions and Valencia.
Betic Cordillera
Betic Cordillera: Mountains caused by the Alpine Orogeny between the Hesperian Massif and the Betic-Rif that runs from the tip of Tarifa to the Cabo de la Nao. It is divided into two parts: Penibética and Subbética.
Lagoon
Lagoon: A lagoon formed in the Quaternary period by a sea inlet closed by a sandbar. In Spain, we have the Valencia lagoon, the de Alcudia lagoon, that of Grau, etc.
Aridity
Aridity: The relationship established in a given time and space between heat and humidity. It increases with heat and little rainfall. The driest parts of Spain are the southeastern peninsula and the Ebro basin.
Mountain Weather
Mountain weather: Climate found in territories over 1000 meters. It has a small temperature range and rainfall above 1000 mm. It has mild summers and cold winters.
Mediterranean Climate
Mediterranean climate: Climate that occurs in Mediterranean countries and regions. It is characterized by low rainfall (between 300 and 800 mm) and a temperature range that varies depending on the location inland or by the sea. In Spain, it occupies the peninsula except for the oceanic area, the Balearic Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla. Its types are: maritime, continentalized, and steppe.
Oceanic Climate
Oceanic climate: Climate characterized by heavy rainfall (between 800 and 1000 mm) and low temperatures with a low temperature range. It occurs in the north of Spain.
Urban Climate
Urban climate: It is typical of large cities. It is characterized by increased temperature (cars, heating, etc.), a smaller temperature range, and increased cloudiness due to contamination.
Continental Climate
Continental climate: Weather patterns characterized by high thermal amplitude and low rainfall caused by the lack of moderating influence of the sea. In Spain, it is found in the two sub-plateaus and inland Andalusia.
Desertification
Desertification: Loss of topsoil due to aridity caused by high temperatures and little rainfall below 150 mm and human action. In Spain, it is found in the Cabo de Gata.
Drought
Drought: Low rainfall over a long period of time, leading to depletion of water resources. It occurs in the steppe climate and the Islands.
Aquifer
Aquifer: A permeable rock substrate that allows the accumulation and circulation of water through it and that, if there is water on an impermeable substrate, leads to underground storage. It usually occurs on limestone.
Relative Flow
Relative flow: The relationship between the absolute flow and the watershed area in km2.
Torrent
Torrent: Intermittent watercourses that carry water only when there is heavy rainfall.
Ramblas
Ramblas: A dry streambed located in the arid zone.
Water Resources
Water resources: The quantity of water available. In Spain, these are rivers, lakes, and aquifers.
Pluvial Hydrological Regime
Pluvial hydrological regime: The power of the river water depends on the characteristics of rainfall and the seasonal regime in which it will be distributed. It has its maximum in autumn and spring. It predominates in the rivers that originate below 1000m, which are the majority.
Nival Flow Regime
Nival flow regime: The water supply of the river depends on snowmelt. Its maximum occurs in spring and summer. These are the rivers originating in mountains located above 2000 or 2500 meters. They are the headwaters of the central Pyrenees and Sierra Nevada.
Pluvionival Flow Regime
Pluvionival flow regime: The power of these rivers depends on rainfall in the first place and then on thawing. They have their maximum in spring and autumn. These are the rivers from mountains located between 1600 and 1800 meters. In Spain, these are found in the Cantabrian Mountains and the Central System.
Tempered
Tempered: Large river floods that can cause flooding. They are more frequent in the Mediterranean area.
Salinization of Aquifers
Salinization of aquifers: The problem of overexploitation of aquifers, caused by the decrease in water and being near the sea.
Transferring Between Rivers
Transferring between rivers: The water transfer from one river to another through a channel or by boat. 38 currently operate in Spain.
Rim Watershed
Rim watershed: It consists of all the water catchment areas that drain into the same sea or river. In Spain, we have two: the Atlantic, which is divided into Cantabrian and Atlantic, and the Mediterranean.
Endemism
Endemism: Plant formations that are unique to remote areas.
Garrigue or Maquis
Garrigue or maquis: Low replacement training resulting from the degradation of Mediterranean forests. The garrigue grows in limestone soils and the maquis in siliceous soils.
High Mountain Meadows
High mountain meadows: Alpine vegetation is characteristic. Its vegetation has a short growing season and spends seven or eight months under the snow, so it does not allow plants to grow larger.
Siberian Vegetation
Siberian vegetation: Vegetation belonging to the Oceanic climate with deciduous forest, beech and oak, with Ireland, consisting of shrubs such as heather and gorse and abundant grass.
Macaronesian Vegetation
Macaronesian vegetation: It belongs to the Canary Islands with original vegetation with Mediterranean and African Atlantic influences. Endemic and relic species are of great importance. The mountainous terrain is organized into floors: scrub, palm-drago-juniper, laurel, myrtle, heather, pine, and scrub with rich Canarian flora.
Mediterranean Vegetation
Mediterranean vegetation: It belongs to the Mediterranean climate with evergreen forest, with oaks, with maquis, formed in siliceous soils with rockrose and mastic, the garrigue, formed in calcareous soils with lavender, thyme and rosemary, and steppe formed by discontinuous thorny vegetation.
Xerophytic Vegetation
Xerophytic vegetation: Vegetation adapted to the dryness of the area where it lives.
Floor
Floor: Vegetation typical of mountain landscapes that are different in terms of height.
Environmental Crime
Environmental crime: An attack on a protected natural area. State law protects ecosystems to preserve and conserve the natural environment. This term is used in the Penal Code.
Ecosystem
Ecosystem: A functional unit consisting of a defined territory and the organisms that inhabit it. Protected areas in Spain represent a particular ecosystem.
Protected Natural Area
Protected natural area: A natural area protected by the Law of Conservation of Natural Areas and Flora and Fauna of 1989. In Spain, they represent 8% of the territory. They are classified into national parks, natural parks, nature reserves, natural monuments, and protected landscapes.
Nature Park
Nature park: A natural area protected by the Law of Conservation of Natural Areas and Flora and Fauna of 1989. It promotes the exploitation of primary resources and rural tourism. Examples include the Albufera of Alcudia-Muro, Dragonera, etc.
Brown Iberian Peninsula
Brown Iberian Peninsula: The part of the Iberian Peninsula belonging to the dry Mediterranean climate, occupying the entire peninsula except for Galicia, the Cantabrian Zone, and the high mountain area. Its name comes from the lack of rainfall that exposes the dry brown earth.
Green Iberia
Green Iberia: The part of the Iberian Peninsula belonging to the wet maritime climate and high mountains. It occupies Galicia, the Cantabrian zone, and intermediate floors of the mountains. Its name is due to the abundance of green vegetation due to heavy rains.
Acid Rain
Acid rain: An environmental problem resulting from air pollution caused by emissions of primary pollutants into the atmosphere that, when in contact with water vapor, leads to acidification of precipitation. It has negative effects on water, soil, vegetation, etc. It occurs in most industrial areas and areas with heavy traffic.
Census
Census: An official statistical document that provides for the counting of the population at any given time. It is conducted every 10 years, finishing in 1, and is updated every 5 years. The last one was in 1991, and the next will be in 2001.
Old Demographic Cycle
Old demographic cycle: It is characterized by a high birth rate, high mortality rate, and low natural growth as a result of low economic development. In Spain, it continued until 1900. Some authors say that it ended in the eighteenth century.
Modern Demographic Cycle
Modern demographic cycle: A system that starts in Spain in 1900. It is characterized by the gradual reduction of the birth and death rates of the demographic transition itself down to low rates typical of the current demographic regime caused by economic development. Some authors say that it begins in the eighteenth century to coincide with other European countries.
Real Growth of the Population
Real growth of the population: The increase or decrease in the population taking into account net migration and natural movement. At present, Spain has the lowest growth rate in this century, with negative growth in many regions (northern half).
International Migration
International migration: Movement of population to other continents. In Spain, it has occurred especially to Latin America (Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela, Mexico, Cuba, and Brazil) and with less intensity to North America and Australia.
Pendular Migration
Pendular migration: Population displacement in the daily journey to and from the place of residence to the workplace. It is favored by the development of transport and is very common.
Catastrophic Mortality
Catastrophic mortality: Excessive growth of mortality from epidemics, famine, wars, etc. In Spain during the twentieth century, it has been caused by the flu of 1918 and the Civil War of 1936-39. Currently, it does not exist due to economic development.
Infant Mortality
Infant mortality: The relationship between the number of deaths of children under 1 year of age and total live births in the year. It is expressed in deaths per 1000 live births. In 1995, it was 7 per 1000.
Return Migration Movement
Return migration movement: Displacement of people returning to their home because of problems of unemployment or retirement. In Spain, they were caused by the 1973 crisis and industrial restructuring of the 80s.
Register
Register: An official statistical document that contains a list of the inhabitants of the municipality. It is conducted every 5 years, finishing in 1 and 6. Its information is public and includes demographic, economic, and social data.
Fertility Rate
Fertility rate: The ratio between the number of live births per 1000 women of childbearing age. Today, it is 1.1 children per woman, the lowest in the world.
Sex Ratio
Sex ratio: The quotient obtained by dividing the number of males by the number of females and multiplying by 100. In children’s ages, there are 100 girls and 105 boys; in adulthood, the number of women increases due to war, harder physical work, etc.
Rate Femininity
Rate femininity: The quotient obtained by dividing the number of women by the number of males and multiplying by 100. In children’s ages, there are 100 girls and 105 boys; in adulthood, the number of women increases due to war, harder physical work, etc.
Labor Force
Labor force: All persons who provide labor available for the production of goods and services among the population over 16. It includes both the population working and those looking for work.
Employed Population
Employed population: The part of the working population that has a job.
Primary Sector
Primary sector: It is one of the three economic sectors, which refers to farming or extracting raw materials from the earth. It occupies 8.3% of the Spanish workforce.
Secondary Sector
Secondary sector: It is one of the three economic sectors, which refers to industry and construction. It occupies 29.9% of the Spanish workforce.
Tertiary Sector
Tertiary sector: It is one of the three economic sectors, which refers to services. It occupies 61.8% of the Spanish working population and is expected to increase further.
Activity Rate (Occupation)
Activity rate (occupation): The percentage of the total workforce population.
Alternative Agriculture
Alternative agriculture: The cultivation of land using strictly natural practices such as organic fertilizers, rotation of cultivated land, and no chemicals to prevent soil depletion. In Spain, it is being developed in conjunction with an increased interest in environmental conservation, especially in horticulture.
Agritourism
Agritourism: It is the presentation of tourist services in the context of a farm. It is an alternative for the maintenance and profitability of agrarian and seasonal tourism. The precursor communities were Catalonia and the Balearic Islands.
Waters
Waters: Waters under the jurisdiction of a state up to 200 miles offshore. Spain is subject to the agreements of the EU both in Community waters and outside the EU.
Mediterranean Crops
Mediterranean crops: These are the Mediterranean trilogy (cereals, vineyards, and olives). They are monocultures corresponding to the dry Mediterranean climate. They are extensively cultivated in the Meseta and Andalusia.
Subtropical Crops
Subtropical crops: These are crops grown in warm climates. In Spain, they are grown in the Canary Islands and the Andalusian coast in irrigated plantations. They include papaya, mango, pineapple, etc.
Agrifood Industry
Agrifood industry: It transforms agricultural raw materials, plants or animals, into manufactured goods for food. The most important sectors are cereals, meat products, milk, oil, beverages, sugar, canned goods, etc. In Spain, almost 70% of agricultural production is transformed.
Monoculture
Monoculture: A cropping system based on the dominance of a single product. It is characterized by crops of the Mediterranean trilogy (cereals, vineyards, and olives) and the new industrial crops (cotton, snuff, etc.). In Spain, it occupies large areas of the interior.
Polyculture
Polyculture: A cropping system based on product diversification on a farm for home consumption or for marketing. It is characteristic of irrigated areas in Catalonia and the Levante area and the outskirts of towns. Horticulture is mainly grown.
Coastal Fishing
Coastal fishing: It takes place between the coast and 60 miles around the Spanish coast and, especially, in the Atlantic with an artisanal fleet. The catch is, above all, for the consumption of fresh fish. It faces the problem of national fisheries overexploitation and an excessive number of vessels subject to EU rules.
Farm
Farm: Fish farms where aquaculture is practiced. They may be public, for restocking and reproduction, or private, for marketing. They are found in Catalonia, Galicia, and Castile. They can be marine or river farms.
Agricultural Policy
Agricultural policy: Known as the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy). It controls farming in EU countries. Its fundamental principles are: unity of the market, Community preference, and financial solidarity. Spain entered the EEC in 1986 with a transition regime of 7 or 10 years. The sectors most affected by the CAP have been vineyards, olives, and beef cattle.
Intensive Livestock Production
Intensive livestock production: Also called industrial. It is characterized by housing, feeding on feed, and genetics. It seeks the highest quality and quantity for marketing and agribusiness. In Spain, we have pig farming and poultry farming in Catalonia, Valladolid, and Valencia.
Extensive Livestock
Extensive livestock: Livestock that is not kept in a stable and is fed on natural grass supplemented with feed or forages. In moist Spain, it is intended for the production of milk, and in Salamanca and Extremadura, it is intended for meat; sheep breeds in the Plateau and the mountains; and Iberian pigs in Salamanca and Extremadura.
Reforestation
Reforestation: Planting of native species in forest areas, especially hardwoods and conifers, to address the deforestation caused by logging and abusive fires. In Spain, following the rules of the EU, there has been a shift from a productivist policy to a conservationist one.
Transhumance
Transhumance: Seasonal migration of livestock, particularly sheep, to find grass. In Spain, it was practiced in the summer from the drylands of the plateau to the mountain pastures. It has now virtually disappeared.
Alternative Energy
Alternative energy: Energy sources that are linked to natural resources, inexhaustible, non-polluting, and renewable. Technology is not sufficiently developed for them to be an alternative to traditional energy sources. In Spain, the most viable are: hydro, solar, wind, biomass, etc.
Technology Parks
Technology parks: Concentration of high-tech companies in specific sectors (microelectronics and telematics) in a specific area that has good infrastructure and services. In Spain, there are several, including: Tres Cantos (Madrid), Valles (Barcelona), Paterna (Valencia).
Development Center
Development center: An officially designated area in development plans since 1964. It provided financial and fiscal incentives to attract business investment and promote industrial development in deprived areas: Vigo, A Coruña, Valladolid, Zaragoza, Seville, etc., with little result.