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    "label": "Report, Central Intelligence Agency, Spain, Situation Report 11",
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    "ocrText": "SECRET\nb. The Galician Coast area extends from Ribadeo to the Portuguese-Spanish bor-\nder at the mouth of the Rio Miño. This is mainly a high rocky coast, cut by a succes-\nsion of bays or drowned rivers, locally known as rias. The harbors on the northwest\nand west are generally good but are backed by steep shore slopes ascending to a hilly\nplateau.\nC. The coast of northern Portugal extends from the Portuguese-Spanish border\nto Cape Carvoeiro. This coast is low, sandy, and almost straight. It is broken by\nrocky stretches, lagoons, swamps, and marshes, and is backed by hills and mountains.\nd. The coast of southern Portugal extends from Cape Carvoeiro to the Portuguese-\nSpanish border. This coast is high, with partly cliffed terrain alternating with low\nsandy beaches. Hills are found inland, but do not usually reach the lower coast.\ne. The Atlantic Coast of southern Spain extends from the Portuguese-Spanish\nborder to the Strait of Gibraltar. This coast is a low, sandy beach, except in the\nextreme southeast. High dunes are found along the shore, and back of the dunes,\nmarshy land exists in many locations.\nf. The Mediterranean Coast of southern Spain, from Gibraltar to Cape Palos,\nconsists of a low, narrow strip backed by mountains which reach the sea in many places.\nMany of the beaches are isolated and steep.\ng. The eastern Mediterranean Coast extends from Cape Palos to the French-\nSpanish border. This coast is one of great variation. Long sandy beaches, lagoons,\nirrigated areas, cliffs and hills, are found. This coastline in general is regular and\nunindented, with very few harbors and islands.\nGood landing conditions on the Iberian peninsula are few, despite the length of\nthe coastline. However, considering both the coastal conditions themselves and the\nconnections inland, two coasts are relatively favorable for landing operations. These\nare: (1) the coast of southern Portugal, especially near Lisbon, using either the Tagus\nRiver or the Badajoz gateway to the Meseta; and (2) the Atlantic coast of Spain, where,\nto avoid Las Marismas swamp, a force could land and then proceed inland up the\ncorridor of the Guadalquivir valley.\nClimatic Factors:\nRainfall.-Rainfall is by far the most important climatic factor. Precipitation is\ngreatest in the northwestern part of the peninsula and least in the southeastern part.\nThree rainfall regions are recognized: (1) the north, where precipitation occurs\nthroughout the year, and where streams will, at all seasons, be barriers; (2) the region\nof winter rain and summer drought covering most of the peninsula, where streams are\nbarriers during the winter but are usually fordable in the summer; and (3) the region\nof little precipitation in the southeastern part of the peninsula and in the Ebro Basin,\nwhere streams, except immediately following rain, are fordable. In the south near\nMurcia stream beds frequently are used during the dry season as local roads.\nTemperature.-Whiler less important than rainfall, temperature has two par-\nticularly critical aspects: (1) in those areas where temperatures are higher than 90°\nF. for August, which is normally the hottest month in the peninsula, and where one\n61\nSECRET"
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