The Iberian Peninsula is dominated by the Meseta upland area and surrounded by mountain ranges, containing the countries of Spain, Portugal, and Andorra. Portugal established itself as an independent kingdom in 1143 and was a pioneer in global exploration between the 15th-16th centuries. Spain's capital is Madrid and it shares the Pyrenees Mountains border with France to the north. The tiny nation of Andorra is situated in the mountainous regions between France and Spain. Gibraltar, located at the western entrance to the Mediterranean Sea, was ceded to Britain in 1713 and declared a British colony in 1830.

3. Iberian Peninsula The Meseta, a great uplifted fault block ringed and crossed by mountain ranges, dominates this peninsula that contains the countries of Spain, Portugal, and the tiny Andorra.

4. The Reconquista

5. Portugal In 1415, the Portuguese set sail on epic voyages that would make them the first to discover the ocean routes to India, Brazil, China and Japan, and at the same time establish settlements on the east and west coasts of Africa. An independent kingdom since 1143, Portugal is one of the oldest nations in Europe.

6. Lisbon, Portugal

7. Spain

8. Madrid

9. Pyrenees Stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Mediterranean in the East, a distance of some 250 miles (402.5km), the mountains of the Pyrenees form a natural barrier between Spain and the Iberian Peninsula in the south and France in the north.

10. Andorra This pocket-sized princedom comprises just a handful of mountainous landscapes and meandering rivers.

11. Andorra

12. Andorra de Vella

13. Gibraltar Ceded to Great Britain by Spain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht; the British garrison was formally declared a colony in 1830.

14. Strait of Gibraltar Located at the western entrance to the Mediterranean, its sailors are occasionally beset by strong gap winds that can produce dangerous seas, especially when they blow against tide and current.

15. Links http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/prehistory/peoples_01.shtm http://www.gu.edu.au/ins/collections/webb/html/18-39.html http://www.globalgeografia.com/europe_eng/europe.htm http://www.endex.com/gf/buildings/ltpisa/ltphistory.html http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Paris/Monuments-Paris/Eiffel.shtml http://www.people.virginia.edu/~eas5e/Irish/Famine.html http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/andorra/ http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/eurostar/channel_tunnel_diagram.htm http://www.geo.arizona.edu/geo5xx/geo527/Pyrenees/pyrenees.html http://fga.freac.fsu.edu/academy/eurchun.htm#activity1