Castile-León summary

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Castile-León.

Castile-León, Spanish Castilla y León , Autonomous community (pop., 2001: 2,456,474) and historic region, northern Spain. Established in 1983, it encompasses the provinces of Valladolid, Burgos, León, Salamanca, Zamora, Polencia, and Segovia and covers an area of 36,380 sq mi (94,224 sq km). Its capital is Valladolid. It occupies the elevated Central Plateau and is drained by the Douro River, which bisects the region. The Cantabrian Mountains rise to the north. The area’s population experienced periods of decline in the 20th century, with notable emigration from the countryside to the provincial capitals. Its economy is largely agricultural. See also Castile.

Salamanca Summary

Salamanca, city, capital of Salamanca provincia (province), in the comunidad autónoma (autonomous community) of Castile-León, western Spain. The city lies at an elevation of 2,552 feet (778 metres) above sea level on the north bank of the Tormes River. It is one of Spain’s greatest historical and

Spain Summary

Spain, country located in extreme southwestern Europe. It occupies about 85 percent of the Iberian Peninsula, which it shares with its smaller neighbour Portugal. Spain is a storied country of stone castles, snowcapped mountains, vast monuments, and sophisticated cities, all of which have made it a