Europe‘s Largest Desert

The Tabernas Desert (Spanish: Desierto de Tabernas) is a desert located within Spain's south-eastern province of Almería. It is in the interior, about 30 kilometers (19 mi) north of the provincial capital Almería, in the Tabernas municipality in Andalusia. Tabernas is the only desert within Europe, since most of its area has a desert climate. Due to its high elevation and mountainous location, it has slightly higher annual precipitation (more than 220 mm (8.7 in) per year) than coastal areas of Almeria. It is a nature reserve (protected area) that spans 280 square kilometers (110 square miles). The Tabernas Desert is located between the Sierra de los Filabres to the north, the Sierra Alhamilla to the south-southeast and the Sierra Nevada to the west.