Geography of Catalonia

The geography of Catalonia extends across the territory between the lower course of the Ebro valley and the central and eastern Pyrenean slopes, on the Iberian Peninsula, connecting with the European mainland through the Aran Valley. Catalonia has a relatively very marked geographical diversity, taking into account the relatively small nature of its Mediterranean coastline to the east, with 580 kilometers of coastline, and the large relief units of the Pyrenees to the north. It borders the autonomous communities of Aragón (provinces of Huesca, Zaragoza and Teruel) to the west and the Valencian Community (with the province of Castellón) to the south. On its northern slope it borders Andorra and France (Occitania region). The east of the Catalan territory is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea. The coordinates of its ends are 3º 19' 59.94'' of east longitude for the eastern end, 0º 9' 41.69'' of east longitude to the western end, 42º 51' 45.97'' north latitude for the northern end and 40º 31' 27.56'' of northern latitude for the southern end.

Geology

The current geological state of Catalonia can begin to be described from the first great changes of the Paleozoic. Initially, the territory was part of an oceanic basin in which, due to orogenic rest, fine and clayey sedimentary materials were deposited. The development of Hercynian folding determined a more irregular sedimentation that subsequently produced the emersion (of low altitude) of several northwest-southeast-oriented areas such as the Ebro massif (current central Catalan depression) and the Catalano-Balearic massif, which arose at the end of the was. The sedimented materials of the time were transformed into gneiss, schist and slate that emerges today in the northern half of the coastal mountain ranges and the axial Pyrenees.

The Mesozoic era once again covered the areas emerged during the previous era, which caused a quiet sedimentation under the sea, generating a large amount of calcareous material. Today this material is found in the southern half of the coastal mountain ranges and in the Pre-Pyrenees.

At the beginning of the next era, the Cenozoic, the Eurasian and African tectonic plates come into contact and a back of folds and mountain ranges gently begins to rise through Alpine orogenesis that will give rise, among others, to the Pyrenees. This thrust also affects the movement of the Catalan-Balearic massif towards the Southwest, covering the Ebro massif, still submerged, which causes materials to be deposited that will give rise to the future central Catalan depression. On the coastline, conglomerates deposited by the rivers accumulate and will give rise to the outstanding elevations of the Montserrat, Sant Llorenç del Munt massifs, etc. Meanwhile, towards the interior of the basin, sand and clay accumulate, which will give rise to stoneware. When the Ebro massif closed, in the shape of a gulf, a large salt lake was created. Its waters were exposed to intense evaporation that finally gave rise to large saline deposits from which until recently salt was still extracted in Súria and Cardona. The second half of the era eroded a large part of the Catalan-Balearic massif through decompression, remaining in a narrow line that makes up the pre-coastal depression, the plain of Cerdaña, Ampurdán, etc. At the end of the period, the alpine movements influence the emergence of volcanoes in the Olot area that will last until the Quaternary and the glaciers of the Pyrenees end up shaping the territory.

Climate

Catalonia enjoys a Mediterranean climate, although with great variations in temperature between the coastal coast, with a mild climate, temperate in winter and very hot in summer; the interior has a continental Mediterranean climate, with cold winters and very hot summers; and the mountainous areas close to the Pyrenees, which have a high mountain climate, with sub-zero minimums and abundant snow in winter, annual rainfall above 1000 mm and less hot summers. Catalonia enjoys a temperate Mediterranean climate typical of its latitude in the northern hemisphere. Even so, due to its varied topography, there is a great diversity of climates. Average annual temperatures range from 0 °C in the Pyrenees to 17 °C on the southern coast; Maximum temperatures can reach 43 °C (in the Garrigues), and minimum temperatures can reach -30 °C (in the Pyrenees).

In terms of rainfall, Catalonia can be divided into two regions:

• Wet Catalonia, composed of the Pyrenees, the Pre-Pyrenees, the Sub-Pyrenees and some mountainous islets of the Prelitoral mountain range, where rainfall is greater than 700 mm per year; and
• Dry Catalonia; the rest of the territory, where rainfall is less than 700 mm per year.

Rainfall has an equinoctial trend. In the Mediterranean, summers are dry and there are spring rains. In the Pyrenees, rainfall is abundant during May and June, and summers are generally humid.

When considering both temperatures and rainfall, Catalonia is divided into three large climatic domains:

• One alpine climate (in the high Pyrenees);
• One Atlantic climate (in the Garonne basin);
• And one of the Mediterranean climate (in the rest of the territory), which is subdivided into a high mountain area and a low mountain.

The climate of Catalonia is generally Mediterranean although, during winter, there is a notable difference in temperatures between the coastal coast (a true Mediterranean climate), with average temperatures around 10 °C, and the interior (below 1000 m altitude) with average winter temperatures between 3 and 7 °C. Summer temperatures are more homogeneous around 25 °C on the coast and between 21 and 25 in the interior. The mountain climate is characterized by a decrease in temperature and an increase in precipitation, all in accordance with the increase in altitude. From 1500 meters it is considered that the high mountain climate begins. The average annual temperature ranges from 17 °C in the Ebro Delta to 0 °C, or lower, from 3000 m altitude. Extreme temperatures have been from 43 °C in Lérida and Igualada in July 1982, Montblanch on July 4, 1994, to -32 °C in Lake Gento (in the level of 2030 m) in February 1956. The average annual rainfall ranges between 350 liters in the Segriá and 1200 in the Alta Garrocha.

The median annual relative humidity is generally between 70 and 75% throughout the territory. On the coast this figure is a homogeneous force throughout all the months of the year, in the interior there is a minimum in summer and a maximum in winter, this is especially pronounced in places where there is usually fog.

The dominant wind in Catalonia, as in general in the rest of Europe, is from the west. Even so, in both the north and the south of Catalonia, winds with a northern component dominate: the tramuntana (which blows north) especially in Alto Ampurdán and the mistral (north-west) in the south of Catalonia. More irregular or seasonal winds must be taken into account, such as the marinade wind and mountain breezes or 'fogony'. The median annual wind speeds (measured at 10 m from the ground) are between 1 m/s in Viella and Medio Arán (protected by the mountains that surround it) and 10 m/s in Portbou (observatory on top of a mountain)

Insolation is closely linked to cloudiness, whether high clouds or low clouds (fog) and not so directly linked to rainfall. Catalonia is between 2,600 hours per year and 2,000 hours.

Climatic types

Broadly speaking, the climate of Catalonia can be divided into five groups: Mediterranean coastal climate, inland Mediterranean climate, Mediterranean mountain climate, transition zone between Mediterranean climate and Atlantic climate, and Atlantic mountain climate.

According to the climatic conditions that affect life, several types of bioclimates are established in Catalonia.

Mediterranean coastal climate

It reaches the coastal zone and part of the pre-coastal area of Catalonia, the coastal and pre-coastal mountain range prevents this type of climate from advancing inland in a large part of the territory. The main characteristic of the Mediterranean coastal climate is the mildness of the winter since on the one hand it very rarely freezes, several years go by without the thermometer dropping below zero degrees, and on the other hand the average temperatures of the coldest months of the year (December, January and February) are between 9 (in the north of the coast) and 12 °C (in the Ebro Delta). In summer the average temperatures are between 24 °C and 25 °C with high ambient humidity, which generates muzzle, but with marinade that means that the average maximum temperatures do not reach 30 °C. The average annual rainfall in the coastal area is between 700 (Bajo Ampurdán) and 480 (Tarragona). The maximum rainfall is in autumn with the danger of strong waterspouts. The irregularity of the rains is typical of the Mediterranean climate.

Indoor Mediterranean climate

It covers the entire area of the central Catalan Depression, Priorat, the Plana de Vich, and the interior of the Ebro Lands not adjacent to the ports of Tortosa-Beceite, especially the Ribera de Ebro. The Barberá Basin and the Alto Campo also belong to this area. The variation in temperatures throughout the year is greater than on the coast. In winter the minimum temperatures are in the Plana de Vich, caused by a marked thermal inversion that more moderately affects the entire aforementioned territory. Summer is hot with higher maximums than on the coast but the minimums are seven or eight degrees lower, with relative humidity and, therefore, less sultry. In the areas that are further inland, from Segriá to Segarra, it rains less than on the coast. On the other hand, in the Plana de Vich it rains more and in Bages in a similar way. Rain does not reach the western lands with much intensity in autumn.

Transition zone between Mediterranean climate and Atlantic climate

It corresponds to the part of the Alta Ribagorza region that does not belong to the Aiguas Tortas and Lago de San Mauricio National Park (more or less), the Pallars Sobirá area that does not belong to the Aiguas Tortas and Lago de San Mauricio National Park (more or less), the Pallars Sobirá area that does not belong and the area around Puebla de Segur in the Pallars Jussá, that is, from Talarn to Senterada. Being transitional, it has characteristics of both climates: it rains more than the normal Mediterranean, but there are also dry periods and wetter ones.

Atlantic mountain climate

It reaches only a small part of Catalonia, those located on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees and some very nearby areas penetrate the wetter Atlantic fronts. Specifically, it is in the Aran Valley, the area of the Aiguas Tortas and Lake San Mauricio National Park (in the Pallars Sobirá, the east of the Alta Ribagorza and the north of the Pallars Jussá), and the Vall Fosca in the north of the Pallars Jussa. Rainfall there is regular throughout the year and average summer temperatures are below 20°C. There are no dry periods and it rains fairly uniformly in all seasons.

Hydrography

Catalonia belongs almost entirely to the Mediterranean basin. The Catalan hydrographic network presents two large major hydrographic basins, the Ebro hydrographic basin and the internal basins of Catalonia of a similar size over the territory (15,038 km² –46.84%– and 16,513 km² –51.43%– respectively.), both pouring into the Mediterranean, which is accompanied by the Garonne basin, which pours its waters into the Atlantic and extends over 554 km², 1.73% of the Catalan territory.

The Ebro basin in Catalonia mainly uses the Segre river as its largest tributary, whose basin alone reaches 7,455 km², and to which the Noguera Pallaresa (2,811 km²) and Noguera Ribagorzana basins (2,811 km²) are added as tributaries. 1013 km²). All rivers follow a Pyrenees-Ebro axis. After the influx of the Segre, the Ebro heads towards the Delta, irrigating through other tributaries a territory of 3,757 km², largely located in the area of the Ebro Lands (Terres del Ebre).

The internal basins of Catalonia are usually divided into those rivers that originate in the Pyrenees and those that originate in the Catalan Coastal Mountains. The basins that make up the Pyrenees-Mediterranean axis are made up of the Llobregat, Ter, Fluvià, Muga and Tec rivers (which runs towards Roussillon). These basins run through an area of 9622 km². The remaining basins, following the so-called Mediterranean axis, arise both in the Coastal and Pre-coastal Mountain Range and in the Empordà Plain and irrigate their waters for 6890 km². The most important rivers are (from north to south) the Daró, Tordera, Besós, Foix, Gayá, Francolí and Cenia.

The smallest of the Catalan basins, that of the Garonne River, runs mainly through the Aran Valley. It receives water from numerous rivers and ravines that flow down the slopes of the valley's mountains, and within the Catalan territory its longest tributaries are the Arriu Unhòla and the Arriu de Varradòs.

The Ebro basin contributes an average of 18,700 hm³ annually, while the internal basins only have 2,020 hm³ per year. The imbalance is caused by the previous contribution of the Ebro (around 6,700 hm³/year) to which is added the Pyrenean contribution of the Segre (around 12,000 hm³/year) to the south of the province of Lleida. It is around the regions of the central depression that these waters have been used to build numerous irrigation canals. The Urgel Canals (478 hm³), the Aragón and Catalonia Canal (362 hm³) and the future Segarra-Garrigas Canal (342 hm³) stand out. However, despite its reduced flow, of all the Spanish basins, it is the Internal Basins of Catalonia where water is used the most for human consumption (518 hm³). This imbalance has promoted the use of groundwater in the coastal and eastern regions, of which Catalonia has many reserves. In any case, it is common that in periods of low rainfall there are supply cuts to populations, even in spring. For this reason, several river transfer options have been considered. For water supply there are 28 reservoirs, of which ten operate in the Segre basin. The oldest is the Camarasa reservoir, built in 1920, and the largest are those of Canelles (679 hm³, shared with Aragón), Rialb (402.8 hm³), Santa Ana (236.6 hm³, shared with Aragón) and Susqueda (233 hm³).

There are few sizeable lakes in the territory. Most are found in the Catalan Pyrenees in the form of small lagoons (estanys), originated by ancient glacial cirques. Of these, the Aiguas Tortas National Park and Lake San Mauricio are famous, although the largest of all is Lake Bañolas, of karst origin.

The coast

The Catalan coast is about 580 km long with few geographical features, the most notable being Cape Creus and the Gulf of Roses to the north and the Ebro delta to the south. From the Pyrenees to Blanes appears the Costa Brava, characterized by low cliffs and hidden coves. Then follows the long line of Maresme beaches parallel to the coastal mountain range. Barcelona's coast is characterized by artificial beaches and a large commercial port that extends for more than nine kilometers. The southern part of the port was developed on the plain of the Llobregat delta, which behind the port draws a smooth coastline of just over 18 km. Then, the Garraf massif articulates the coasts into notable cliffs and until after Sitges the coast is not straight again. From there, continuing south, we find the port of Tarragona. This is the second port in Catalonia and extends for more than five kilometers before entering Cape Salou. The beaches in this area take the name of Costa Dorada. Towards the south, the coast is again gentle and characterized by less human occupation. The last major geographical feature is the Gulf of San Jorge and the lowlands of the Ebro delta, where there are islands and peninsulas, such as Punta del Falgar to the north and La Baña to the south, which is linked to the delta by Trabucador beach. The sand on Catalan beaches is generally golden, and with a certain tendency to be grainy in the north and finer in the south.

Land uses

Despite the population and industrialization of Catalonia, a good part of the soil remains intact at the hands of man. The forest landscape is distributed over 18,257 km² (2002), and is especially appreciated in the mountainous areas of the north and the coast. This includes light and dense forests (sclerophyllous, deciduous and aciculifolia) as well as the vegetation of humid areas. These forests occupy 56.8% of the Catalan surface. By extension, the next cover is occupied by crops, extending over 32.5% of the territory (10,448 km²). Of these, dryland agriculture stands out, (7069 km²), spread across many regions and being characteristic of Segarra, Solsonés, Bages and Noya among others. Rainfed fruit cultivation extends mainly to the south of Ponent and the Ebro Lands. Regarding the vine, the vineyards that year extended over 769 km², mainly in Panadés. The extent of irrigation is more restricted (2,611 km²) and is distributed mainly in the Segriá, Plana de Urgel and surrounding areas, especially through the numerous irrigation canals, as well as the Ebro Delta, and to a lesser extent, in the Ampurdán, Cerdagne and the coast of Barcelona. The cultivation of irrigated fruit trees is less extensive, and occurs especially in Segriá and Campo de Tarragona.

In 2002, the human presence had an area of 1,520 km² (4.7% of the Catalan territory) and is generally concentrated on the coast, especially in the Barcelona metropolitan area. The extension of the urbanizations stands out, greater than that of the urban centers, and later the area destined for industrial and commercial use (229 km²).

Finally, the unused or unusable land constituted 5.4% (1,740 km²) and extended mainly along the Pyrenean peaks in the form of bare vegetation or meadow. The surface occupied by water (from rivers, lakes or dams) was 150.5 km², only 0.5% of the Catalan surface.

Protected spaces

The protection of the Catalan natural environment has grown rapidly in recent years. As of 2006, the protected land territory amounted to 9,608 km², practically 30% of Catalonia. The spaces differ in degree of protection; In this sense, the park with the greatest rank and antiquity is the only national park in Catalan territory, the Aiguas Tortas and Lake San Mauricio National Park, inaugurated in 1955. However, it was already in 1932 that it was intended to protect some spaces of the Pyrenees in the so-called Macià Plan. Until after the democratic restoration and the autonomous government, legislation was not passed again to protect natural spaces. Currently, there are several administrations (the Ministry of the Environment, the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Barcelona Provincial Council, along with several consortia of municipalities) that are in charge of overseeing, protecting and promoting protected spaces. The Generalitat, in addition to co-managing the Aiguas Tortas Park, manages a network of 11 natural parks, 3 Paratges Naturals d'National Interest, a nature reserve (Delta del Llobregat) and a marine reserve (Islands You give me). For its part, the Barcelona Provincial Council has a Network of Natural Parks (Xarxa de Parcs Naturals) directed by the Natural Spaces Area of the Provincial Council that extends the protected spaces by 12 parks of different degrees of protection, some managed together with the Generalitat. In addition to these parks, there is a more extensive network of specific spaces protected by less specific laws whose objective is to combine the diversity of the Catalan territory and its local flora and fauna. This network, called PEIN (Pla d'Espais d'Interès Natural) also incorporates the aforementioned natural and national parks that do have specific legislation. As of April 2007, the spaces included in the PEIN amounted to 165.

Orography

The relief of Catalonia presents, broadly speaking, three large general morphostructural units: the Pyrenees, the mountain formation that connects the Iberian Peninsula with the European continental territory and is located north of Catalonia; another unit formed by an alternation of elevations and plains parallel to the Mediterranean coast, called the Catalan Mediterranean System or Catalan Coastal Mountains and a last structural unit located between the previous ones called the central depression that makes up the eastern sector of the Ebro Valley.

The Catalan Pyrenees represents almost half the length of the entire Spanish Pyrenees, as it is distributed over more than 200 kilometers. Traditionally, the Axial Pyrenees, the main one, have been differentiated from the Pre-Pyrenees (southern in Catalan territory), which are mountain formations parallel to the main mountain ranges, although at a lower altitude, less steep, and with a different geological formation. Both units are wider in the western sector than in the eastern sector, and that is where they have their highest peaks. The highest elevation in Catalonia, which is located north of the Pallars Sobirá region, is the Pica d'Estats with an altitude of 3,143 m. It is followed by Comaloforno with 3029.2 m and Besiberri Sur with 3023.4 m. In the Pre-Pyrenees, several mountain ranges and peaks stand out, such as the Sierra del Cadí (Vulturó, 2648 m) or Pedraforca (Pollegó Superior, 2497 m).

The Catalan Mediterranean System is based on two mountain ranges more or less parallel to each other and to the sea following a northeast-southwest orientation and they are the Litoral Mountain Range, the closest to the sea, and the Pre-Litoral Mountain Range behind the previous one. The Coastal Mountain Range is less extensive and at a lower altitude (Turó Gros, Sierra del Montnegre, 773 m) while in the Pre-coastal Range the range is broader and at a higher altitude (Turó de l'Home, 1706 m). Within the system there is a series of flat lands, whose largest entities form the Coastal Depression and the pre-coastal depression. The Coastal Depression is located on the edge of the coast and is prior (except for some sectors) to the Coastal Mountains. The pre-coastal depression is located in the interior, between the two coastal mountain ranges, and constitutes the base of the flat lands of Vallés and Panadés. Other larger plains are the Selva Depression and the Llano del Ampurdán, mostly in the regions of La Selva and Ampurdán respectively. Finally, the System also includes the Transversal Cordillera, which are late formations north of the Precoastal Cordillera and in contact with the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, thus giving rise to medium altitudes and volcanoes in the Garrocha area that are now extinct.

The central Catalan depression is a plain located between the Pre-Pyrenees and the Pre-Litoral Mountain Range. The southern regions of the province of Lérida and the central regions of Barcelona occupy this territory. Its lands are located between 200 and 600 meters of altitude in a continuum from west to east, although it has some intermediate foothills. The plains and the water that comes down from the Pyrenees have transformed this area into large crop fields in which numerous irrigation canals have been built.

Mountain systems

Broadly speaking, the territory is usually categorized into three general morphostructural units: a mountainous unit formed by the Pyrenees, another unit formed by alternation between plains and mountainous subunits called the Catalan Mediterranean System and a third unit located in the interior that constitutes a flatter space, called the central Catalan depression.

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees are a mountain range that extends across the entire northern slope of Catalonia, constituting the geographical base of the regions of the Aran Valley, Alta Ribagorza, Pallars Sobirá, Alto Urgel, Baja Cerdaña, Ripollés and to a lesser extent those of Pallars Jussá, Noguera, Solsonés, Bergadá, La Garrocha and Alto Ampurdán. It is an Alpine mountain range, which follows an axis from west to east and separates the Iberian Peninsula from the European continental territory. They are accompanied by a series of subsidiary mountain ranges that are called Pre-Pyrenees. The primary materials of its soils are responsible for a rugged and pronounced relief, accentuated by glacial erosion. Towards the west are the highest points and greatest north-south thickness, while to the east they lose height until they reach the Mediterranean, which it penetrates as an extension of the mountain range through Cape Creus. The pre-Pyrenean mountain ranges are also larger and deeper to the west than to the east, and constitute a transition between the more pronounced orography to the north and the southern plains of the central depression.

Catalan Mediterranean System

The Catalan Mediterranean System is an alternation of low or flat lands and mountain ranges or mountain ranges that generally follow a northeast-southwest orientation. The mountain ranges, also known as the Coastal-Catalan Mountain Ranges or the Coastal Mountain Ranges as a whole, are formed into subunits known as the Coastal Mountain Range and the Pre-Litoral Mountain Range.

This system extends throughout the Catalan coast and some lands located further inland, which involves the regions of: Montsiá, Bajo Ebro, the southeastern sector of the Tierra Alta, the southern sector of Ribera de Ebro, the most of El Priorato, a small portion of Las Garrigas that makes up the Prades Mountains, the southern border of Cuenca de Barberá, the three regions of Camp de Tarragona, the three regions of Panadés, the southernmost sector of Noya and Bages, the regions of Bajo Llobregat, Barcelonés, Maresme and El Vallés, the southern and southeastern sector of Osona, and the Girona regions of La Selva, Gironés, Pla de l'Estany, the lowlands and plains of La Garrocha and the Ampurdán.

The most notable plains are the Coastal Depression, which extends through the Maresme, Barcelonés (Plano de Barcelona) and Bajo Llobregat (Delta del Llobregat) and the pre-coastal depression (Vallés, Panadés). Among the regions of Tarragona, the Campo de Tarragona plain and the Ebro Delta stand out, along with some plains located on the final slope of the Ebro. In the northern area of Catalonia, the Selva Depression stands out, which extends through the region of the same name and the Gironés and the Llano del Ampurdán.

This system also includes what is known as the Transversal mountain range, a set of elevations and mountain ranges that is located in the convergence space of the Pre-Pyrenees and the pre-coastal mountain range, enclosing the plains of the eastern central Catalan depression. It is found especially in the territory of La Garrocha but with mountains and extensions in Gironés, Selva and Osona. Some elevations of the western sector of the Pla de l'Estany could also be considered.

Central Catalan depression

The central Catalan Depression is an extension of land with few orographic foothills that derive from the erosion of the Ebro and its tributaries. It extends across the northern territories of Tierra Alta, Ribera de Ebro, El Priorato and Cuenca de Barberá, the Lleida regions of Segriá, Las Garrigas, Plana de Urgel, Urgel, Segarra and the southern areas of Noguera, Alto Urgel and Solsonés, and from the province of Barcelona, most of the territory of Noya, Bages, the south of Bergadá and the central and eastern sectors of Osona.

La Garrocha volcanic region

The Garrocha Volcanic Zone Natural Park is a natural park located in the La Garrocha region. It is the best example of volcanic landscape on the Iberian Peninsula. It has one fortieth of volcanic cones with an age between 10,000 and 700,000 years, 10 craters, 23 very preserved cones and more than 20 basaltic lava flows. The orography, soil and climate provide varied vegetation, often exuberant, with holm oak forests, oak forests and beech forests of exceptional landscape value. It has a very humid climate, and due to the type of vegetation it could be classified as having an Atlantic climate. The most abundant type of tree is the mountain oak. It has a protected area of 15,000 hectares, which includes 11 municipalities, 28 nature reserves, and aims to make conservation compatible with economic development, under protection from the impacts of mining extraction, urban growth and uncontrolled landfills. of waste.

Includes, among others, the following places of special natural interest:

• El Hayedo de Jordá
• The Croscat Volcano
• The volcano of Santa Margarita
• The plateau of Batet and volcano of Pujalós
• The Tosca Forest
• The basaltic tail of Castellfullit de la Roca
• The river Fluviá
• The Deu and Bocanegra wetlands
• Different volcanoes in Olot:
  • Montsacopa
  • Volcano Bisaroques
  • Volcano of the Garrinada
  • Volcano de Montolivet

Peaks of mountain systems

Pyrenees:

• Pica d'Estats, de 3143 meters of altitude, the highest peak of Catalonia.
• Puigmal, 2913 m.

Catalan-Coastal Mountain Ranges:

• Puig d'Agulles, 653 m.
• Montnegre, 638 m.
• Tibidabo, 512 m.
• Montsiá, 774 m.
• Montseny, 1712 m.
• Montserrat, 1236 m.
• Montsant, 1124 m.
• Mont Caro, 1447 m.

Rivers

Ebro, 910 km, its tributaries:

• Noguera Pallaresa, 154 km
• Noguera Ribagorzana, 133 km
• Segre, 265 km

Other rivers:

• Llobregat, 162 km
• Ter, 167 km
• Garona, 647 km
• Fluvia, 70 km
• Valira, 44 km
• Kisses, 53 km
• Muga, 58 km
• Foix, 41 km
• Francoli, 60 km
• Gaya, 59 km
• Tordera, 55 km

Other natural spaces

• Lake of Bañolas
• Cape Creus
• Gulf of Roses
• Gulf of San Jorge
• Ebro Delta Natural Park
• Marismas del Ampurdan
• Aiguas Tortas National Park and San Mauricio Lake.
• Cadí-Moixeró Natural Park
• Montseny Natural Park
• Natural Park of Collserola
• Montnegre Natural Park and Corridor

Coasts of Catalonia

• Costa Dorada (Spain)
• Costa Brava
• Costa del Maresme