This document provides information on the Basque Country and Cantabria regions of Spain. It describes the Basque Country as an autonomous community in northern Spain made up of three provinces granted special status in 1978. Nearly half its population lives in the Bilbao metropolitan area. Cantabria has a rich history of Paleolithic cave paintings and belongs to an area of northern Spain known for its lush vegetation due to the wet climate. Both regions are described in terms of their political status, geography, and demographics.

1. BASQUE COUNTRY
and CANTABRIA
By JORGE DOSANTOS VIGIL

2. INDEX
BASQUE COUNTRY:
 Political description
 Geography
 Demography
CANTABRIA:
 Political description
 Geography
 Demography

3. BASQUE COUNTRY: POLITICAL
description
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern
Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and
Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories.
The Basque Country or Basque Autonomous Community was
granted the status of nationality within Spain, attributed by the
Spanish Constitution of 1978. The autonomous community is based
on the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country, a foundational
legal document providing the framework for the development of
the Basque people on Spanish soil. Not withstanding this spirit, the
territory of Navarre was left out and made into a separate
autonomous community.

4. Geography
The Basque Country borders with Cantabria and the Burgos
province to the west, the Bay of Biscay to the north, France and
Navarre to the east and La Rioja (the Ebro River) to the south. The
territory has three distinct areas, that are defined by the two
parallel ranges of the Basque Mountains. The main range of
mountains forms the water divide of the Atlantic and
Mediterranean basins. The highest point of the range is in the
Aizkorri massif (1551 m).

5. Demography
Almost half of the 2,155,546 inhabitants of the Basque
Autonomous Community live in Greater Bilbao, Bilbao's
metropolitan area. Of the ten most populous cities, six form
part of Bilbao's conurbation (Bilbao, Barakaldo, Getxo,
Portugalete, Santurtzi and Basauri), which is also known as
Greater Bilbao

6. CANTABRIA:Political description
Cantabria is the richest region in the world for archaeological sites from the
Upper Paleolithic period, although the first signs of human occupation date from
the Lower Paleolithic. The most significant site for cave paintings is that in the
cave of Altamira, dating from about 37,000 BC[3] and declared, along with nine
other Cantabrian caves, as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

7. Geography
Cantabria belongs to Green Spain, the name given to the strip of
land between the Bay of Biscay and the Cantabrian Mountains, so
called because of its particularly lush vegetation, due to the wet and
moderate oceanic climate. The climate is strongly influenced by
Atlantic Ocean winds trapped by the mountains; the average
precipitation is about 1,200 mm (47 inches).

8. Demography
According to the 2009 Census, the region has a population of
591,886[12] which constitutes 1.29% of the population of Spain,
with the population density numbering 106.8 people per
kilometer. The average life expectancy for male inhabitants is
75 years whilst for female inhabitants it is 83 years.