Aragon


Aragon is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza. The current Statute of Autonomy declares Aragon a historic nationality of Spain.
Covering an area of, the region's terrain ranges diversely from permanent glaciers to verdant valleys, rich pasture lands and orchards, through to the arid steppes of the central lowlands. Aragon is home to many rivers—most notably, the river Ebro, Spain's largest river in volume, which runs west–east across the entire region through the province of Zaragoza. It is also home to the highest mountains of the Pyrenees.
, the population of Aragon was 1,351,591, with slightly over half living in the capital city, Zaragoza. In 2023, the economy of Aragon generated a GDP of €46,674 million, which represents 3.1% of Spain's national GDP, and is currently 5th in per capita production behind Madrid, Basque Country, Navarre and Catalonia.
In addition to its three provinces, Aragon is subdivided into 33 comarcas or counties. All comarcas of Aragon have a rich geopolitical and cultural history from its pre-Roman, Celtic and Roman days, four centuries of Islamic rule as Marca Superior of Al-Andalus or kingdom of Saraqusta, as lands that once belonged to the Frankish Marca Hispanica, counties that later formed the Kingdom of Aragon, and eventually the Crown of Aragon.

Geography

Location

The area of Aragon is of which belong to the province of Huesca, to the province of Zaragoza and to the province of Teruel. The total represents a 9.43% of the surface of Spain, being thus the fourth autonomous community in size behind Castile and León, Andalusia, and Castile-La Mancha.
It is located in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, at a latitude between 39º and 43º'N in the temperate zone. Its boundaries and borders are in the north with France, in the west with the autonomous communities of Castile-La Mancha, Castile and León, La Rioja and Navarre, and in the east with the autonomous communities of Catalonia and the Valencian Community.

Relief

The orography of the community has as the central axis the Ebro valley which transits between two foothill areas, the Pyrenean and the Iberian, preambles of two mountain formations, the Pyrenees to the north and the Sistema Ibérico mountain range to the south; the Community has the highest peaks of both mountain ranges, the Aneto and the Moncayo respectively.

Pyrenees

The Aragonese Pyrenees are located in the north of the province of Huesca and are arranged longitudinally in three large units: High Pyrenees, Internal Depressions and Outer Ranges.
The Aragonese High Pyrenees contains the maximum heights of all the Pyrenees mountainous chain. The High Pyrenees is formed in turn by the axial Pyrenees and the Inland Ranges.
In the axial Pyrenees are the oldest materials: granites, quartzites, slates and limestones and the highest peaks like: the Aneto, Maladeta and the Perdiguero. The inner Pre-Pyrenees, composed of more modern rocks also has large mountains such as Monte Perdido, Collarada and Tendeñera.
File:Monasterio de Siresa. Huesca.jpg|thumb|Abbey of San Pedro de Siresa, monastic, political and cultural center of the ancient County of Aragon, where Alfonso I was educated. It is located in the Hecho Pyrenean Valley.
The main Pyrenean valleys are formed by the rivers that are born there, which are:
The intrapirenaic depression is a broad perpendicular corridor. Its best represented section is the Canal de Berdún, which limits on the south with the reliefs of San Juan de la Peña and Oroel Rock, modeled on conglomerates of the Campodarbe Formation.
File:2005.09.17 mallos de Riglos.jpg|thumb|Mallos de Riglos conglomerate rock formations, in Las Peñas de Riglos
The pre-Pyrenean outer ranges are in the Huescan foothills and constitute the southernmost unit of the Pyrenees; formed by predominantly calcareous materials, reach heights between and meters. The Sierra de Guara, one of the most important mountain ranges of the Spanish Pre-Pyrenees, stands out; its summit, the Guara Peak, reaches metres. The Mallos de Riglos, near the town of Ayerbe, stand out for their beauty.

Depression of the Ebro

The Aragonese central depression includes a wide lowland area, which is also the central part of the Depression of the Ebro. North of the river there is the Sierra de Alcubierre ranges one of the typical limestone plateaus of the valley.
The Ebro Valley is a tectonic pit filled with sedimentary materials, accumulated in the Tertiary age in horizontal series. In the center, fine materials such as clays, plasters and limestones were deposited. To the south of the Ebro there are the limestone plateaus of Borja and of Zaragoza.

Sistema Ibérico

The Aragonese section of the Sistema Ibérico straddles the provinces of Zaragoza and Teruel. It is a set of hills without a clear structural unit, which can be divided into two zones: Sistema Ibérico del Jalón and Sistema Ibérico turolense. In the first, the Moncayo stands out with, formed by Paleozoic quartzites and slates, partly covered by Mesozoic limestones. The second is formed by elevated terrain, but flattened and massive. To the southwest of the depression the summits of the Sierra de Albarracín range are reached above, southeast the are reached in the Sierra de Javalambre range and finally the Sierra de Gúdar range transitions to the Maestrazgo area in the Valencian Community.

Climate and vegetation

There are two main types of climate in Aragón, the Semi-arid climate and the Oceanic climate. Its irregular orography creates several microclimates throughout the entire community. From the High mountain Alpine climate of the central Pyrenees to the north, with perpetual ice, to the Humid subtropical climate to the steppe or semi-desert zones, such as the Monegros Desert, passing through the intense continental climate of the Teruel-Daroca area and the Mediterranean climate in the southern areas bordering Castilla La Mancha and the Valencian Community.
The main characteristics of the Aragonese climate are:
  • Rainfall is mostly low, with much of Aragon placed in a bowl of low ground between the Pyrenean mountain range to the north and the Sistema Ibérico mountain range to the south, cut off from maritime air masses. This situation means that the rain falls mainly in the higher areas, and that the temperature range features large contrasts, with cold winters and hot summers, as typical of continental climates.
  • Rainfall is also irregular, as typical of Mediterranean climates, with randomly alternating dry and wet years.
  • The air currents are often encased in the middle Ebro Valley from northwest to southeast, giving a characteristic wind, the cierzo, which stands out for its intensity and frequency.
Temperatures are very dependent on the altitude. In the Ebro Valley the winters are relatively moderate, although the frosts are very common and the thermal sensation can decrease a lot with the cierzo. Temperatures in summer can exceed 40 °C in the central areas. In mountain areas winters are long and rigorous, average temperatures can be up to 10 °C lower than in the valley.
The two most important winds of Aragon are the cierzo and the bochorno or levant. The first is a cold and dry wind that crosses the Ebro Valley from northwest to southeast and that can become quite strong. The second is a warm wind, more irregular and smooth, coming from the south-east.
The vegetation follows the oscillations of relief and climate. There is a great variety, both in natural vegetation and in crops. In the high areas there are forests, bush and meadows, and in the central Ebro Valley, evergreen oak and juniper are the most common trees.

Hydrography

Most Aragonese rivers are tributaries of the Ebro River, which is the largest river in Spain and divides the community in two. Of the tributaries of the left bank of the river, the ones originating in the Pyrenees, the Aragón River stands out. Its headwaters are in Huesca, but it ends at the community of Navarre, the Gállego and the Cinca, which joins the Segre just before emptying into the Ebro at the height of Mequinenza. On the right bank, the Jalón, Huerva and Guadalope stand out.
In the stream bed of the Ebro river, near the border with Catalonia, the Mequinenza Reservoir, of and a length of about 110 km; it is popularly known as the "Sea of Aragon".
The small Pyrenean mountain lakes called ibones merit special mention. These lakes are very scenic, originating during the last glaciation, and are usually found above.
The Autonomous Community lies within three hydrographic regions, the Ebro River, the Tagus River, and the Júcar, which has as its main river in this community the Turia.

Protected spaces

In Aragon, protected natural spaces are managed through the Red Natural de Aragón, an entity created in 2004 to protect all elements with ecological, landscape and cultural value and at the same time coordinate and establish common standards that contribute to their conservation and sustainable use. In this entity are integrated national parks, natural parks, nature reserves, biosphere reserves and other protected natural areas that have been declared by the autonomous community, the Ramsar Convention or the Natura 2000.
Within the protected areas is the only national park of Aragon: the Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, the second national park created in Spain, in 1918, it is found in the Pyrenees in the comarca of Sobrarbe, occupies an area of, a part of the of the peripheral area of protection. It also enjoys other figures of protection like the Biosphere Reserve of Ordesa-Viñamala and is cataloged as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
In addition there are 4 other natural parks: the Moncayo Natural Park with an extension of, the Sierra y Cañones de Guara Natural Park with and of peripheral area of protection, the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park with and of peripheral area of protection, and the Valles Occidentales Natural Park with and of peripheral area of protection.
There are also three nature reserves, five natural monuments and three protected landscapes.