Cantabria

Cantabria (/kænˈtæbriə/, /-ˈteɪ-/;Spanish: [kanˈtaβɾja]) is a Spanish historical community and autonomous community with Santander as its capital city. It is bordered on the east by the Basque Autonomous Community (province of Biscay), on the south by Castile and León (provinces of León, Palencia and Burgos), on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea (Bay of Biscay).

Cantabria belongs to Green Spain, the name given to the strip of land between the Bay of Biscay and the Cantabrian Mountains, so called because of its particularly lush vegetation, due to the wet and moderate oceanic climate. The climate is strongly influenced by Atlantic Ocean winds trapped by the mountains; the average annual precipitation is about 1,200 mm (47 inches).

Cantabria has archaeological sites from the Upper Paleolithic period, although the first signs of human occupation date from the Lower Paleolithic. The most significant site for cave paintings is that in the cave of Altamira, dating from about 37,000 BC and declared, along with nine other Cantabrian caves, as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. The modern Province of Cantabria was constituted on 28 July 1778 at Bárcena la Puente, Reocín. The Organic Law of the Autonomy Statute of Cantabria was approved on 30 December 1981, giving the region its own institutions of self-government.

Cantabria (disambiguation)

Cantabria may refer to:

See also

Cantabria (Spanish Congress Electoral District)

Cantabria is one of the 52 electoral districts (circunscripciones) used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies - the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. It corresponds to the autonomous community of Cantabria. Santander is the largest municipality with 165,000 voters - 35% of the total electorate. Torrelavega is the second largest municipality with almost 50,000 voters.

Boundaries and electoral system

Under Article 68 of the Spanish constitution the boundaries must be the same as the autonomous community of Cantabria and under Article 140 this can only be altered with the approval of congress. Voting is on the basis of universal suffrage in a secret ballot. The electoral system used is closed list proportional representation with seats allocated using the D'Hondt method. Only lists which poll 3% or more of all valid votes cast, including votes "en blanco" i.e. for "none of the above" can be considered for seats. Under article 12 of the constitution, the minimum voting age is 18.