2. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella sponsored Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the New World in 1492.

3. Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España) Spain is located in Europe. Its neighbors are France and Portugal. It is the 4 th largest country after Ukraine, France and Russia. The capital of Spain is Madrid.

4. There are 17 autonomous regions of Spain and 2 territories in Northern Africa (Ceuta and Melilla). Andalucia is one of the the largest regions in Spain and has the largest population. Rioja is the smallest region.

5. Felipe Borbon (Felipe VI) became the king June 19, 2014 after the abdication of the throne from his father Juan Carlos I. (Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias). Felipe VI King Felipe Vi, Queen Leticia and children Infanta Sofia and Princesa de Asturias Leonor Photos (www.bing.com)

6. Flag of Spain was officially adopted Dec. 19, 1981.

7. Recognized Languages of Spain Castellano

8. Currency The currency used in Spain is the “euro”. 1.00 EUR = 1.09261 USD 1USD = 0.915380 EUR

9. Spain has a very diverse landscape: Mountainous regions with fertile valleys (north and south), central plateau (Meseta) and coastline http://www.pbase.com/bauer/landscape_in_s pain

10. Spain is known for: Bull fighting Flamenco dancing Paella

11. Well Known Artists from Spain Diego Velasquez http://www.diegovelazquez.org/ Francisco Goya http://www.franciscodegoya.net/ Pablo Picasso http://www.picasso.com/picasso-prints.aspx Salvador Dalí http://www.salvadordali.com/

12. Key Cities in Spain are: Madrid * Capital Barcelona Cádiz Granada La Coruña León Pamplona Sevilla Salamanca Valencia Zaragoza

13. Major Rivers in Spain are: Río Ebro Río Duero Río Guadiana Río Guadalquivir Río Tajo Río Ebro flows to Mediterranean; all others flow to the Atlantic