Map - Cantabria, Cantabria

Santander - Cantabria provincial capital city

Cantabria is a Spanish province and autonomous community with Santander as its capital city. It is bordered on the east by the Basque Country (Biscay), on the south by Castile and León (provinces of León, Palencia and Burgos), on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea (Bay of Biscay).

Cantabria belongs to the Green Spain, the name given to the strip of land between the Cantabrian Sea and the Cantabrian Mountains in northern Spain. It is called green because it has a wet and moderate oceanic climate, strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean winds that get trapped by the mountains. The average precipitation is about 1,200 mm, this allows the lush vegetation to grow.

Cantabria is the richest region in the world in archaeological sites from the Upper Paleolithic period. The first signs of human occupation date from Lower Paleolithic, although this period is not so well represented in the region. The most significant cave painting site is Altamira, dated from about 16.000 to 9.000 BC and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Despite its small size, there are seven natural areas of undoubtable interest in this autonomous community:

Picos de Europa National Park
Collados del Asón Natural Park
Santoña, Victoria and Joyel Marshes Natural Park
Macizo de Peña Cabarga Natural Park
Oyambre Natural Park
Saja-Besaya Natural Park
Dunes of Liencres Natural Park
The most important of these is the Picos de Europa National Park.

• * Name
• * Email
• Web page
• * Comments
•  
•   Your name and comments (not your email address)
  will appear here once reviewed.