Bilbao | |
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State | Autonomous Community of the Basque Country |
Country | Spain |
Capital | |
Population | 343430 |
Bilbao (, also US: , Spanish: [bilˈβao]; Basque: Bilbo [bilβo]) is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the province of Biscay and in the Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the tenth largest city in Spain, with a population of 345,141 as of 2015. The Bilbao metropolitan area has 1,037,847 inhabitants, making it one of the most populous metropolitan areas in northern Spain; with a population of 875,552 the comarca of Greater Bilbao is the fifth-largest urban area in Spain. Bilbao is also the main urban area in what is defined as the Greater Basque region.
Bilbao is situated in the north-central part of Spain, some 16 kilometres (10 mi) south of the Bay of Biscay, where the economic social development is located, where the estuary of Bilbao is formed. Its main urban core is surrounded by two small mountain ranges with an average elevation of 400 metres (1,300 ft). Its climate is shaped by the Bay of Biscay low-pressure systems and mild air, moderating summer temperatures by Iberian standards, with low sunshine and high rainfall. The annual temperature range is low for its latitude.
After its foundation in the early 14th century by Diego López V de Haro, head of the powerful Haro family, Bilbao was a commercial hub of the Basque Country that enjoyed significant importance in Green Spain. This was due to its port activity based on the export of iron extracted from the Biscayan quarries. Throughout the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, Bilbao experienced heavy industrialisation, making it the centre of the second-most industrialised region of Spain, behind Barcelona.
Coventry | |
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State | England |
Country | United Kingdom |
Capital | |
Population | 337428 |
Coventry ( (listen) KOV-ən-tree or KUV-) is a city, administrative centre and metropolitan borough in England and the United Kingdom. It is built on the River Sherbourne, which remains largely hidden by infrastructure, although it can be seen by the canal. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages; since then it has been one of the most important and largest cities of the country. The conurbation consists of the Coventry and Bedworth Urban Area, being the 20th largest in the country; the city is governed by Coventry City Council.
Historically part of Warwickshire, Coventry had a population of 316,915 at the 2011 census, making it the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is the second largest city in the West Midlands region, after Birmingham, and is separated from the West Midlands conurbation ((Greater) Birmingham & The Black Country) by the Meriden Gap.
Coventry is 19 miles (31 km) east-southeast of Birmingham, 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Leicester, 11 miles (18 km) north of Warwick and 94 miles (151 km) northwest of London. Coventry is also the most central city in England, being only 12 miles (18 km) south-southwest of the country's geographical centre in Leicestershire; it is located in the West Midlands.