Spains+Interesting+Facts

**~SPAIN'S INTERESTING FACTS~**

~Location: Southwestern Europe. Mediterranean Sea to the Southeast, Bay of Biscay to the North, and Atlantic Ocean to the Southwest.

~Climate: clear, hot summers and cloudy, cold winters in center. Cool and cloudy along the coasts all year round.

~Land: mostly flat with some hills.

~Natural Resources: iron ore, coal, lignite, copper, lead, zinc, uranium, tungsten, mercury, pyrites, magnetite, fluorspar, gypsum, sepiolite, kaolin, potash, hydropower

~Capital: Madrid

~Government type: parliamentary monarchy

~National Holiday: October 12, 1492-when Columbus first set foot in Americas

~Constitution: October 31, 1978. Effective as of December 29th.

~Agriculture products: grain, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus: beef, pork, poultry, diary products, fish

~Religious beliefs: Christianity- 76% Irreligion/ others- 19% Islam- 2.3% Judaism- 0.1% Others- 1.7%

~Family Structure: Spaniards are very close to their family. It is very important to them.

~Political Structure: Spain is a constitutional monarchy. The executive branch has a Council of Ministers, which is supervised over the President of Government. This is similar to the Prime Minister. The legislative branch has the Congress of Deputies. This includes 350 elected members, that each serve 4 year terms, a Senate, with 259 seats which also serve 4 year terms.

~Currency: Euro

~Imports: machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, semi-finished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, measuring and medical control instruments

~Exports: Machinery, motor vehicles, foodstuffs, consumer goods

~Physical Geography: Mostly flat with some hills

~Communication: Spanish is spoken and written Example: Hola-means Hello

~Holidays: · January 1 New Year's Day. · January 6 Epiphany. · Week Before Easter Semana Santa - the later in the week you get,the more likely things will be closed - with Thursday, Friday and Sunday the most affected. Easter Monday is not a public holiday, except in Catalonia and Valencia. · May 1 Workers' Day. · August 15 Assumption of the Virgin. · October 12 National Day. · November 1 All Saints' Day · December 6 Constitution Day · December 8 Immaculate Conception · December 24 Navidad. Christmas Eve (Night) is far more important than Christmas Day in Spain. Shops may close early on Christmas Eve, though most will be open in the morning.

~Food: Food in Spain has a lot of tomatoes and olive oil. Traditional dishes include tortillas, (potato omelets), paella, gazpacho (cold soup), sausages, meats such as lamb and pork, cheeses, sardines, octopus, squid and fruit

 