Spain occupies most of the Iberian Peninsula, located at the southwestern tip of Europe. Its area, 505,955 square kilometers, is the third-largest country on the European continent after Russia and France. The bulk of Spain's territory (493,484 square kilometers) lies on the Iberian Peninsula, while the remainder is occupied by the Balearic Islands (4,992 square kilometers) to the east and the Canary Islands (7,447 square kilometers), located more than a thousand kilometers to the south, opposite the African coast. Spain also owns the cities of Ceuta and Melilla, located in northern Africa. Geographically, the Iberian Peninsula is closer to Africa (at a distance of only 14 kilometers) and borders the Atlantic Ocean, through which lies the route to the American continent, making the peninsula particularly strategically important. This explains why the Iberian Peninsula has become a crucial crossroads in the development of cultures and civilizations in world history. Spain is thus part of the peninsular lands of southern Europe and occupies a special place in the Mediterranean world.