Question

The Meseta of Spain is a ___________.
A. Mountain
B. Volcano
C. Plateau
D. River valley

Answer 1

Hint: The Meseta of Spain extends over 210,000 square km and has an elevation of approximately 660 metres, which constitutes the most complex geologic formation of the peninsula.

Complete Answer: The word ‘Meseta’ means plateau in Spanish. So, the Meseta of Spain is a plateau of the Iberian Peninsula, also known as the Meseta Central. The western slope of this plateau is inclined towards the Atlantic Ocean and forms the basins of the rivers Duero, Tagus and Guadiana. The plateau rises into the Cantabrian Mountains to the north and it becomes a series of ranges towards the east. La Mancha occupies the southeastern section of the Meseta Central. In the northeast, a certain symmetry is formed by the tectonic troughs of the Ebro and in the south by the Guadalquivir.

The central part of the peninsula divides the Meseta Central into two divisions, Castile-Leon, the high basin of the northern Meseta and the Castile-La Mancha and Extremadura in the lower plateaus of the southern Meseta.

Thus, the correct answer is option (C).

Note: The Meseta central is also referred to as the Inner plateau of the Iberian Peninsula. The concept of the ‘Meseta central’ was developed during the 19th century by Heinrich Moritz Willkomm, a German academic and botanist.