Extremadura, Spain

🇪🇸 Extremadura is a landlocked autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it is crossed from east to west by the Tagus and Guadiana rivers. The autonomous community is formed by the two largest provinces of Spain: Cáceres and Badajoz. Extremadura is bordered by Portugal to the west and by the autonomous communities of Castile and León (north), Castilla–La Mancha (east) and Andalusia (south).

It is an important area for wildlife, particularly with the major reserve at Monfragüe, which was designated a National Park in 2007, and the International Tagus River Natural Park (Parque Natural Tajo Internacional). The regional executive body, led by the President of Extremadura, is called Junta de Extremadura.

The Day of Extremadura is celebrated on 8 September. It coincides with the Catholic festivity of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The region, featuring a huge energy surplus and hosting deposits of lithium, is at the forefront of Spain's plans for energy transition and a decarbonisation.

Geography Extremadura is contained between 37° 57′ and 40° 29′ N latitude, and 4° 39′ and 7° 33′ W longitude. The area of Extremadura is 41,633 km² (16,075 sq mi), making it the fifth largest of the Spanish autonomous communities. It is located in the Southern Plateau (a subdivision of the Spanish Central Plateau).

The region is crossed from West to East by two large rivers, the Tagus and the Guadiana, lining up three basic areas from North to South by combining mountain ranges and rivers: the territory spanning from the Sistema Central to the Tagus, the so-called Mesopotamia extremeña in between the Tagus and the Guadiana and the territory from the Guadiana to Sierra Morena. Besides the catchment basins of the Tagus and the Guadiana covering most of the territory by far, fringe areas of the region are drained by the Douro (north) and the Guadalquivir (south). Notable Tagus tributaries include the Tiétar and the Alagón (rightbank) and the Almonte, Ibor, Salor and the Sever (leftbank). Regarding the Guadiana, important leftbank tributaries include Guadarranque and Ruecas and rightbank tributaries include the Zújar River and the Matachel.

The highest point in Extremadura, the 2,401 m (7,877 ft) high Calvitero (or El Torreón), is located in the Sistema Central, in the north-eastern end of the region, bordering with Castile and León. The main subranges of the Sistema Central in Extremadura are the Sierra de Gata and Sierra de Béjar.

The modest heights of Sierra de las Villuercas (topping at 1,603 m (5,259 ft) on the Pico de las Villuercas) rise in the Mesopotamia extremeña. Other notable ranges include the Sierra de Montánchez and the Sierra de San Pedro, part of the larger Montes de Toledo system.

The Sierra Morena—the limit between Extremadura and Andalusia—and the Sierra de Tentudía (topping at 1,104 m (3,622 ft) on the Pico Tentudía) rise in the south.

There are four different hydrographic basins: • The basin of the Tagus (Spanish: Tajo), with two principal tributaries: on the right, the Tiétar and the Alagón; and on the left, the Almonte, Ibor, Salor and the Sever. The tributaries on the right edge carry a large quantity of water, which feed the gorges of the Sistema Central where the rainfall is abundant and the winter brings a great quantity of snow. • The basin of the Guadiana, which has principal tributaries: • The basin of the Guadalquivir with only 1,411 km² (545 sq mi) in Extremadura (2.45% of total). • The basin of the Douro (Spanish: Duero) with only 35 km² (14 sq mi) in Extremadura (0.04% of its basin).