This document summarizes the land relief and water distribution of several continents and regions including: - Spain, Europe, Africa, America, Asia, and Oceania. For each area, it describes key physical features such as mountain ranges, deserts, peninsulas, rivers, lakes, seas, and their locations. The document provides information on the average altitude and notable geographic characteristics of each region.

1. UNIT 4. LAND RELIEF AND WATER
DISTRIBUTION IN THE WORLD
1. Land relief and water distribution in Spain.
2. Land relief and water distribution in Europe.
3. Land relief and water distribution in Africa.
4. Land relief and water distribution in America.
5. Land relief and water distribution in Asia.
6. Land relief and water distribution in Oceania
7. Land relief and water distribution in Antarctica.

2. 1. LAND RELIEF AND DISTRIBUTION OF
WATER IN SPAIN
• Spain is the forth largest country in Europe.
• Is the second highest country in Europe with an
average altitude of 660 m above sea level.
• Its territory includes:
 Most of the Iberian Peninsula.
Islas Baleares and Islas Canarias.
Ceuta and Melilla.
Small archipelagos such as the Chafarinas Islands,
the Alhucemas Islands and Alborán Island.

4. THE MESETA

5. THE MESETA CENTRAL
• Is the major landform on the Peninsula. The Meseta
slopes towards the west which is why the rivers that
cross it flow into the Atlantic Ocean.
• In the Meseta it is located the Sistema Central
mountain chain that includes the Gredos, Somisierra
and Guadarrama mountain ranges.
• The Sistema Central divides the Meseta into two
sections:
• Submeseta Norte, with an average altitude of 750
metres.
• Submeseta Sur, with an average altitude of 650
metres. The middle part of the Submeseta Sur is called
La Mancha.

6. THE MOUNTAINS BORDERING THE MESETA

7. • The Meseta is surrounded by different mountain
chains. The major ones are:
– Montes de León: it has peaks over 2.000 metres, such
as El Teleno (2.188 m).
– Cordillera Cantábrica: in its central section are the
Picos de Europa, the area with the highest mountains,
including Torre Cerredo (2.648 m) and El Naranjo de
Bulnes (2.519 m).
– Sistema Ibérico. Its main mountain ranges are: Sierra
de la Demanda, Picos de Urbión, Sierra del Moncayo,
where it is located El Moncayo (2.313 m), Serranía de
Cuenca and Sierra de Albarracín
– Sierra Morena. It has Sierra de Aracena, Sierra de
Andújar and Parque Natural de Despeñaperros.

8. OTHER MOUNTAIN RANGES
Macizo Galaico
Pyrenees
Montes Vascos
Sistemas Béticos
Cordillera Costero-Catalana

9. OTHER MOUNTAIN RANGES
• There are other mountain ranges which do not border the Meseta:
– Pyrenees. It is made up of two groups of mountains:
• The Axial Zone: is a group of high mountains, where the Aneto
(3.404 metres) it is located.
• The Pre-Pyrenees: is a group of low mountains.
– Macizo Galaico. It is made up of small mountains. The highest
mountain is Cabeza de Manzaneda (1.778 metres).
– Montes Vascos. It is made up of low mountains separated by deep
valleys. The highest mountain is Aitxuri (1.551 metres).
– Sistemas Beticos. It is made up of two mountain ranges:
• The Cordillera Subbético: Sierra de Cazorla, Sierra de Segura,
Sierra de Aitana y Sierra de Mariola.
• The Cordillera Penibética: Sierra Nevada, where Mulhacén (3.481
metres), the highest mountain on the Iberian Peninsula, is located.
– Cordillera Costero-Catalana. The highest mountain is Turó de l´Home
(1.712 metres).

10. ISLAND RELIEF

11. ISLAND RELIEF.
• Spain has two main groups of Islands:
– The Islas Baleares (located in the Mediterranean
Sea), made up of the islands of Mallorca (Sierra
Tramontana: Puig Mayor – 1.445 metres),
Menorca, Ibiza, Formentera and Cabrera.
– The Islas Canarias (located in the Atlantic Ocean),
made up of the islands of Lanzarote,
Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife (El Teide –
3.718 metres, the highest mountain in Spain),
Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro.

12. DEPRESSIONS.
• Are vast flat areas surrounded by mountain
ranges and crossed by rivers. There are two
depressions on the Iberian Peninsula:
• Depresión del Ebro
• Depresión del Guadalquivir

13. THE COAST OF SPAIN

14. THE COASTS OF SPAIN.
Spain has a very long coastline which is divided
into five sections:
• The Costa Cantábrica.
• The Costa Atlántica-Gallega.
• The Mediterranean coast.
• The Costa Atlantica-Andaluza.
• Islands Coasts.

15. WATER DISTRIBUTION

16. CANTABRIAN WATERSHED

17. ATLANTIC WATERSHED

18. MEDITERRANEAN WATERSHED

19. 2. LAND RELIEF AND WATER DISTRIBUTION IN EUROPE.
Europe is on average the least mountainous continent. Its average height is only 340 metres.

21. • MOUNTAINS: Alps – Apenines – Carpathians - Balkan Mountains - Caucasus - Ural
Mountains - Scandinavian Mountains.
• MASSIFS/PLAINS: Massif Central - Great European plain - East European plain.
• PENINSULAS: Kola Peninsula - Scandinavian Peninsula - Jutland Peninsula - Iberian
Peninsula - Italian Peninsula - Balkan Peninsula - Peloponnese Peninsula - Crimean
Peninsula.
• ISLANDS/ARCHIPELAGOS: Iceland - British Isles: Great Britain, Ireland - Balearic
Islands – Corsica – Sardinia – Sicily – Malta – Crete – Cyprus – Rodos.
• CAPES AND GULFS: North Cape – Gulf of Bothnia – Finland Gulf – Gulf of Genoa –
Gulf of Venice.
• STRAITS (estrechos): English Channel (Canal de La Mancha) – Strait of Gibraltar –
Strait of Messina – Strait of Bosphorus.
• RIVERS :
– Arctic watershed: Pechara, Onega, Northern Dvina.
– Atlantic watershed: Loire, Seine, Rhine (a navigable river), Elbe, Oder, Vistula, Western Dvina.
– Mediterranean Sea watershed: Rhône, Po.
– Black Sea and Caspian Sea watershed: Volga (Europe´s longest river), Ural (which forms the
border between Europe and Asia), Danube, Dniester, Dnieper, Don.
• LAKES: Geneva – Lake Constance – Ladoga – Onega.
• SEAS : North Sea – Mediterranean Sea – Baltic Sea – Black Sea – Caspian Sea –
Adriatic Sea.
LOCATE ON THE PHYSICAL MAP THE FOLLOWING LAND RELIEF AND RIVERS OF
EUROPE:

22. 3. LAND RELIEF AND WATER DISTRIBUTION IN AFRICA.
Africa is the continent
with the highest
average altitude:
750 metres.

23. • MOUNTAINS: Gran Atlas – Ethiopian Highlands, Kilimanjaro (5.895) – Tibesti
Mountains – Drakensberg Mountains – Hoggar Mountains.
• DESSERTS: Sahara Desert – Nubian Desert – Kalahari Desert.
• PENINSULAS: Somali Peninsula.
• VALLEY: Rift Valley.
• ISLANDS/ARCHIPELAGOS: Madagascar – Seychelles – Cape Verde Islands –
Comoro Islands – Reunion Islands – Bioko Island – Madeira Islands (Port.) –
Pincipe Sao Tome, Islas Canarias (Spa.).
• CAPES AND GULFS: Cap Blank – Cape Verde – Cape Palmas – Cape Fria –
Cape of Good Hope - Gulf of Gabès – Gulf of Benguela – Gulf of Anden – Gulf
of Guinea.
• STRAITS (estrechos): Strait of Gibraltar – Suez Canal – Mozambique Channel.
• RIVERS :
– Atlantic watershed: Senegal, Orange, Congo, Niger, Limpopo, Zambezi.
– Mediterranean Sea watershed: Nile (the largest of Africa).
• LAKES: Lake Chad, Volta, Nasser, Malawi, Victoria, Tanganyika, Zambezi.
• SEAS AND OCEANS: Mediterranean Sea – Red Sea – Arabic Sea – Atlantic
Ocean – Indian Ocean.
LOCATE ON THE PHYSICAL MAP THE FOLLOWING LAND RELIEF AND RIVERS OF
AFRICA:

24. 4. LAND RELIEF AND WATER DISTRIBUTION IN AMERICA.
Its average
altitude:
650 metres

25. • MOUNTAINS: Appalachian Mountains – Sierra Madre – Rocky Mountains – Brazilian
Highlands – Andes (Aconcagua 6.961, the highest mountain of America) – Patagonian
Andes - Alaska Mountains.
• PENINSULAS: California – Labrador – Florida – Yucatan.
• PLATEAUS : Colorado – Patagonia
• PLAINS: Orinoco – Great Plains – Amazon – Gran Chaco.
• ISLANDS/ARCHIPELAGOS: Baffin Island – Victoria Island – Galapagos Islands –
Greenland (Groenlandia) – Puerto Rico – Cuba – Jamaica – Hispaniola – Bahamas –
Malvinas(Falkland) Islands - Newfoundland (Terranova).
• CAPES/GULFS/BAYS: Cape San Lucas – Cape San Roque – Cape Frio – Cape Orange –
Tierra del Fuego – Cape Horn – Mexico Gulf – Gulf of Alaska – Hudson Bay – Baffin
Bay.
• STRAITS (estrechos): Bering Strait.
• RIVERS :
– Atlantic watershed: Panama, Paraguay – Amazon – Orinoco - Saint Lawrence – Colorado –
Mississippi – Missouri.
– Pacific watershed: Yukon.
– Arctic watershed: Mackenzie.
• LAKES:
– The Great Lakes: Superior - Michigan – Huron - Eire - Ontario.
– Great Bear Lake - Great Slave Lake – Lake Winnipeg – Lake Titicaca (the highest navigable Lake in
the world).
• SEAS AND OCEANS: Atlantic Ocean – Pacific Ocean – Arctic Ocean – Labrador Sea –
Caribbean Sea – Beaufort Sea – Bering Sea.
LOCATE ON THE PHYSICAL MAP THE FOLLOWING LAND RELIEF AND RIVERS OF
AMERICA:

26. 5. LAND RELIEF AND WATER DISTRIBUTION IN ASIA.
Asia is the largest continent in the world

27. • MOUNTAINS: Himalaya (Everest, 8.847 metres, the highest mountain in the world) –
Altai Mountains – Zagros Mountains – Indu Kush - Verkhoyansk Khangai Mountains -
Chersky – Kolyma – Yablonoi Mountains.
• PENINSULAS: Kamchatka Peninsula – Hindustan Peninsula – Arabian Peninsula – Korean
Peninsula – Indochinese Peninsula – Peninsula Malaca.
• DESSERTS : Gobi Desert – Taklamacan Dessert.
• PLAINS: North China Plain – Yangtze Plain – Mekong Plain – West Siberian Plain – Ganges
Plain – Indus Plain.
• PLATEAUS: Central Siberian Plateau – Tibetan Plateau – Pamir Plateau – Iranian Plateau –
Yablonoi Plateau – Arabian Plateau.
• ISLANDS/ARCHIPELAGOS: Indonesian Archipelago – Philippine Archipelago – Japanese
Archipelago – Sri Lanka Archipelago - Borneo Island – Maldives.
• CAPES/GULFS/BAYS: Gulf of Anden – Gulf of Oman – Persian Gulf - Bay of Bengal.
• RIVERS :
– Arctic Ocean watershed: Ob, Yenisei, Lena.
– Indian Ocean watershed: Ganges – Indus - Tigris – Euphrates.
– Pacific Ocean watershed: Mekong, Red River, Yangtze (Blue River, the longest River in Asia), Yellow
River.
• LAKES: Baikal – Balkash.
• SEAS AND OCEANS: Aral Sea – Caspian Sea – Black Sea – Arabian Sea – Barents Sea –
Kara Sea – Laptev Sea – Bering Sea – Sea of Okhotsk – East China Sea – Philippine Sea –
South China Sea - Coral Sea – Adam Sea - Pacific Ocean – Arctic Ocean – Indian Ocean.
LOCATE ON THE PHYSICAL MAP THE FOLLOWING LAND RELIEF AND RIVERS OF ASIA:

28. 6. LAND RELIEF AND WATER DISTRIBUTION IN
OCEANIA
Oceania is the
smallest
continent.

29. • MOUNTAINS: Great Dividing Range – Bismarck Range – Southern
Alps – Puncak Jaya (4.884 metres, the Higuets Mountain of
Oceania).
• PENINSULAS: York Peninsula.
• DESSERTS : Great Sandy Desert – Great Victoria Desert.
• ISLANDS/ARCHIPELAGOS
– Australasia: Australia, New Zealand.
– Melanesia: Bismarck Archipelago, New Guinea, Vanuatu…
– Micronesia: Mariana, Guam, Caroline, Gilbert…
– Polynesia: Phoenix, Marquesas, Samoa, Tahiti, Cook, Palmira…
• CAPES/GULFS/BAYS: Gulf of Carpentaria – Great Australian Bight –
Cape of Townsend.
• RIVERS : Murray – Darling.
• LAKES: Lake Eyre
• SEAS AND OCEANS: Coral Sea – Timor Sea – Arafura Sea - Indian
Ocean – Pacific Ocean.
LOCATE ON THE PHYSICAL MAP THE FOLLOWING LAND RELIEF AND RIVERS OF
OCEANIA:

30. 7. LAND RELIEF AND WATER DISTRIBUTION IN
ANTARCTICA.
Antarctica is located inside the
Antarctic Circle. As a result, almost its
entire surface is covered by ice.
This continent is made up of many
islands and a large continental mass
with the following important features:
•A large plateau.
•The Transantarctic Mountains
(Mount Vison, 5.140 metres).