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As is our tradition let's head into the weekend with a #geoweirdness thread!
With less than three weeks to go until the next Geomob Barcelona (on 29 May 
) it's fitting that we take a look at the geographic oddities of Catalonia.
#geomobBCN details and sign-up here: https://thegeomob.com/post/may-29th-2024-geomobbcn-details
Ok, ready for some #geoweirdness facts about Catalonia?
1/
2/ Catalonia is today the name given to an autonomous region of Spain 
Historically, Catalonia's borders extended further. The 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees saw Spain cede "Northern Catalonia" to France 
3/ The treaty however created some border complexities.
We’re passionate about exclaves here at OpenCage, and Catalonia has one!
The treaty gave all villages north of the Pyrenees to France
But this meant the Catalan "town" of Llíva was not part of the transfer.
Today this Catalan town is completely surrounded by the French “département” of Pyrénées-Orientales
4/ In the interests of brevity and neutrality, we will not explore the entire history of Catalonia or the independence movement in depth.
Here is a summary which brings you up to speed, taking into account the critical Independence vote of 2017.
It's complicated and there are many opinions (many very strongly held)
5/ Nevertheless, in the interest of #geoweirdness we do need to mention Tabarnia.
This fictional region of Catalonia imagines an area that opposes independence. It is a neologism whose name combines two Catalan provinces, Tarragona and Barcelona. Opponents of independence often use it to highlight the political challenges of the independence movement.
6/ Many people know about the linguistic situation in Catalonia. It’s one of the purest linguistic examples of diglossia (two dialects or languages are used simultaneously by one community), but there are actually three officially recognised languages in Catalonia.
Catalan, Spanish and Aranese.
Aranese is a dialect of Occitan spoken in the Val d’Aran. It has protected official status, and it is the only area of Occitania where the language is protected.
7/ Val d'Aran is also interesting because it is the only region of Catalonia in which the water flows to the Atlantic 
via Toulouse and Bordeaux
https://curiositatcat.wordpress.com/2010/12/20/el-riu-catala-que-desemboca-a-latlantic/
@opencage how is the Val dAran not on the north of the Pyrenees like Llivia?
@ColmDonoghue @opencage in fact Val d'Aran is in the north of the Pyrenees.
