Galicia is commonly associated with the intense green of its mountains and the blue of an omnipresent sea, as well as a landscape marked by incessant rainfall. Nevertheless, despite these and other clichés that are true to a greater or lesser degree, it is a region of great physical contrasts.
More than half of its territory is more than 400 Mts. above sea level and its relief is dominated by gentle, granitic landscapes, where mountains and peneplains alternate with depressions and valleys. In general, the mountain ranges are not very high; the maximum heights are attained in the eastern ranges (Os Ancares, O Courel, Manzaneda or Quixa), where the highest peak is located (Pena Trevinca, 2,100 Mts.). Furthermore, a spine of ranges running from North to South divides the territory in two (O Faro, Cova da Serpe, Serra da Loba). The sunken areas include the depressions of Monforte, Sarria and A Limia.
This is a region dominated by the sea with a very extensive coastline; the waters of the Bay of Biscay bathe the north coast and the Atlantic Ocean the western coast. The most characteristic element is the “rias”, rich river valleys flooded by the sea: the extensive Rías Bajas (Vigo, Pontevedra, Arousa and Muros-Noia) and the smaller more rounded Rías Altas (Ferrol, Ares, Betanzos, A Coruña, Ribadeo, Viveiro, O Barqueiro, Oregal, Cedeira, A Coruña-Laxe, Camariñas and Corcubión). |
