Abstract The current structure and geomorphology of the Iberian peninsula are, for the most part, a direct consequence of Mesozoic and Cenozoic tectonic activity. North of the Betic Cordillera, in its foreland, this post-Palaeozoic tectonic evolution and the resulting Alpine structure is rather complex compared to other European foreland areas. This is a consequence of the Iberian peninsula being a small continental lithospheric plate, which, after the Variscan orogeny, moved relatively independently of its two great neighbours, the European and African plates. The existence of two plate boundaries, following the King’s trough–Azores–Biscay rise–north Spanish trough in the north and the Azores–Gibraltar line in the south, and the relatively small size of the Iberian plate, explain why so much tectonic activity was transmitted to the interior of the Iberian peninsula, especially during Alpine collision.

Abstract Spanish Quaternary sediments and landforms record glacial, alluvial, fluvial, lacustrine, aeolian, coastal and volcanic environments. Within these environments numerous processes acted on different lithologies and structures during changing climate, neotectonic activity, and anthropogenic influence. Consequently, the current landscape of Spain comprises a complex palimpsest of inherited and active landforms. Spain has a mountainous relief, with an average height of 660 m for the whole Iberian peninsula. This high relief is related to the presence of extensive plateaux surrounded by mountain ranges (Cantabrian mountains, Pyrenees, Catalonian Coastal Ranges, Iberian Ranges and Betic Cordillera). The highest elevation in the Iberian peninsula is found in the Betic Cordillera (Mulhacén, 3481 m), although in the Pyrenees there are many peaks above 3000 m. The hydrographic network of the Iberian peninsula has a main divide separating the basins draining to the Mediterranean sea from those draining into the Atlantic ocean. Most of the major rivers drain to the Atlantic and run for a significant part of their course through Tertiary depressions such as those of the Duero, Tajo and Guadalquivir basins. The Ebro river is the main Mediterranean fluvial system and flows through the Ebro depression. These Iberian rivers drain a landscape affected by contrasting climatic belts, with a humid zone in the north, a semi-arid zone situated in the SE and in the large Tertiary depressions, and semi-humid conditions elsewhere. Chronostratigraphic scale for the Mediterranean and Atlantic (modified after Bardají 1999 ). Palaeomagnetic scale after Cande and Kent (1995) . Isotopic scale

Abstract Spain has a great variety of metallic and industrial rock and mineral deposits, as well as important energy and water resources. Within the European Union it has a pre-eminent position, being the country with the highest level of production of raw materials for its own use (Table 19.1 ). Spain is a first-rank producer of several non-metallic minerals such as celestite, sodium sulphate, magnesite, potassium and sepiolite, and ornamental rocks such as granite and marble. There are huge quarrying operations currently active in gypsum, clays, slate and aggregate. Spanish ores include examples of world-class deposits such as Almadén, by far the largest mercury deposit in the world, and the Iberian Pyritic Belt with its giant and supergiant massive sulphide deposits that include the world’s largest at Rio Tinto. Exploration programmes developed in the 1990s have resulted in the discovery of new deposits, both in already active mining districts (e.g. Migollas, Aguas Teñidas, Las Cruces and Los Frailes in the Pyritic Belt, and new mercury reserves in Almadén) and in new areas (e.g. El Valle-Carl és for gold, Aguablanca for nickel). However, despite the large reserves of metallic minerals that exist in the country, mining is only currently active for copper, mercury, gold and zinc (Table 19.2 ). One legacy of the long mineral exploitation history in Spain results from the fact that, before the 1980s, environmental damage was considered to be an inevitable consequence of the extractive Spanish mining industry. This has produced many environmental problems associated with