Editing Iberian Peninsula (section)

===Coastline===
[[File:Iberia Europe satfoto 2014067.jpg|thumb|The Iberian Peninsula and Southern France, satellite photo on a cloudless day in March 2014]]
The coastline of the Iberian Peninsula is {{convert|3313|km|mi|abbr=on}}, {{convert|1660|km|mi|abbr=on}} on the Mediterranean side and {{convert|1653|km|mi|abbr=on}} on the Atlantic side.<ref>These figures sum the figures given in the Wikipedia articles on the geography of Spain and Portugal. Most figures from Internet sources on Spain and Portugal include the coastlines of the islands owned by each country and thus are not a reliable guide to the coastline of the peninsula. Moreover, the length of a coastline may vary significantly depending on where and how it is measured.</ref> The coast has been inundated over time, with sea levels having risen from a minimum of {{convert|115|-|120|m|ft|abbr=on}} lower than today at the [[Last Glacial Maximum]] (LGM) to its current level at 4,000 years [[Before Present|BP]].<ref>{{cite book|page=305|contribution=Evolution of groundwater systems at the European coastline|first=WM|last=Edmunds|author2=K Hinsby |author3=C Marlin |author4=MT Condesso de Melo |author5=M Manyano |author6=R Vaikmae |author7= Y Travi |title=Palaeowaters in Coastal Europe: Evolution of Groundwater Since the Late Pleistocene|editor1-first=W. M.|editor1-last=Edmunds|editor2-first=C. J.|editor2-last=Milne|publisher=Geological Society|year=2001|location=London|isbn=1-86239-086-X}}</ref> The coastal shelf created by sedimentation during that time remains below the surface; however, it was never very extensive on the Atlantic side, as the continental shelf drops rather steeply into the depths. An estimated {{convert|700|km|mi|abbr=on}} length of Atlantic shelf is only {{convert|10|-|65|km|mi|abbr=on}} wide. At the {{convert|500|m|ft|abbr=on}} [[isobath]], on the edge, the shelf drops off to {{convert|1000|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite book| contribution=Iberian Peninsula – Atlantic Coast|title=An Atlas of Oceanic Internal Solitary Waves| date=February 2004|publisher=Global Ocean Associates|url=http://www.internalwaveatlas.com/Atlas2_PDF/IWAtlas2_Pg087_IberianPeninsula.pdf|access-date=9 December 2008}}</ref>

The submarine topography of the coastal waters of the Iberian Peninsula has been studied extensively in the process of drilling for oil. Ultimately, the shelf drops into the [[Bay of Biscay]] on the north (an abyss), the Iberian abyssal plain at {{convert|4800|m|ft|abbr=on}} on the west, and Tagus abyssal plain to the south. In the north, between the continental shelf and the abyss, is an extension called the Galicia Bank, a plateau that also contains the Porto, Vigo, and Vasco da Gama [[seamount]]s, which form the Galicia interior basin. The southern border of these features is marked by [[Nazaré Canyon]], which splits the continental shelf and leads directly into the abyss.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}