Province of Ciudad Real

Theprovince of Ciudad Real(Spanish:[θjuˈðaðreˈal]) is aprovincein the southwestern part of theautonomous communityofCastile-La Mancha,Spain.It is bordered by the provinces ofCuenca,Albacete,Jaén,Córdoba,Badajoz,andToledo.It is partly located in the oldnatural regionofLa Mancha.Its capital isCiudad Real.It is the third largest province by area in all ofSpain,afterCáceresand Badajoz. The historiccomarcaCampo de Calatravais located in the center of the province.

Province of Ciudad Real
Province
Flag Coat of arms
Map of Spain with Province of Ciudad Real highlighted
Coordinates:39°00′N4°00′W
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Castile–La Mancha
Capital	Ciudad Real
Government
• Body	Provincial Deputation of Ciudad Real
• President	Nemesio de Lara Guerrero(PSOE)
Area
• Total	19,813 km2(7,650 sq mi)
• Rank	Ranked 3rd
	3.93% of Spain
Population (2013)
• Total	524,962
• Rank	Ranked 30th
• Density	26/km2(69/sq mi)
	1.13% of Spain
Demonym	Ciudarrealeños
Official language(s)	Spanish
Parliament	Cortes Generales
Website	www.dipucr.es

History

Ciudad Real was one of the 49 provinces in which Spain was divided in theterritorial reorganization of 1833,taking its name from its largest city and capital. Its limits corresponded more or less to the historical province of La Mancha, which was part of the kingdom of Toledo.

The Spanish government created theautonomous communityofCastilla-La Manchaon 15 November 1978, as one of several autonomous regions. The new, hyphenated name was chosen to join the historicCastilla region,which extended beyond the new autonomous region, and that of the smaller historic province ofLa Mancha.Initially a "pre-autonomous" region, the reorganization proposal finally took effect one week after the Statute of Autonomy of Castilla–La Mancha was approved on 10 August 1982. Under this new arrangement, Castilla-La Mancha was subdivided into five provinces,Albacete,Ciudad Real,Cuenca,Guadalajara,andToledo,each named after its largest town and capital city.

Geography

The province of Ciudad Real is located in central Spain and is the third largest province in the country with an area of 19,813 km²(7,650 sq mi). To the north lies the Province of Toledo, to the northeast the Province of Cuenca, to the east the Province of Albacete, to the south lie theProvinces of CórdobaandJaén,and to the west theProvince of Badajoz.To the northwest of the province is a separate area, theexclaveofAnchuras,which is sandwiched between theProvince of Badajozand theProvince of Toledo.The provincial capital isCiudad Real.Part of the province is part of the plateau ofLa Mancha,an elevated but fertile area averaging 500 to 600 metres (1,600 to 2,000 ft) above sea level, the highest elevation being in the comarca ofCampo de Montielat 900 metres (2,950 ft). The main river, crossing the province from east to west, is theGuadiana,and its right bank tributary, theCigüela.

Most of the province is an arid plain, cool in summer and very cold in winter with wide daily fluctuations. The area is agricultural, with wheat, barley, oats, sugar beet, grapes and olives being grown. Cattle are raised here and there are large flocks of sheep. In the valleys formed by the upper reaches of the Guadiana and Cigüela is a wetland area called La Mancha Húmeda. The lagoons and marshes have a resident population of wetland birds and are visited by migrating wildfowl in autumn and spring.

The largest towns in the province areCiudad Real,with a population of 74,960 at the 2014 census,Puertollanowith 50,608,Tomellosowith 38,080,Alcázar de San Juanwith 31,650, andValdepeñaswith 30,705. Other larger municipalities with over ten thousand inhabitants areManzanares,Daimiel,La Solana,Miguelturra,Campo de Criptana,Socuéllamos,Bolaños de CalatravaandVillarrubia de los Ojos.

TheTablas de Daimiel National Parkis located in the province of Ciudad Real. It is a wetland area on the La Mancha plain, an otherwise mainly arid region. It has an area of about 2,000 hectares and is the smallest of Spain's fifteen national parks. It is being expanded to include some of the neighbouringdryland farmingareas.TheCabañeros National Parkis shared with the neighbouringProvince of Toledo.It has an area of 390 square kilometres (150 sq mi) and lies between the Estena and Bullaque rivers, extending into the Chorito and Miraflores mountain ranges. It contains remnants of the Iberian Mediterranean forest which used to clothe this part of Spain.

In the centre of the province is theCampo de Calatrava,the geology of which is volcanic. TheCampo de Calatrava Volcanic Fieldcovers an area of 5,000 square kilometres (1,900 sq mi) and has more than three hundred individual structures. It is composed ofpyroclastic cones,lava domesandmaars,and rises to 1,117 m (3,665 ft). The last known eruption was around 3,600 BC.

Population development

The historical population is given in the following chart:

Government and administration

Main article:Provincial Deputation of Ciudad Real

Communications

The province has good communications with other parts of Spain and is on the main route between Toledo and Andalusia. The A-4 route passes from north to south betweenPuerto LápiceandAlmuradielon the way from Madrid to Andalusia. The capital,Puertollano,and other locations are linked to this road by the A-43 and A-41, and theAutovía de los Viñedosmotorway passes through the northeastern part of the province. Railway communications are via theMadrid–Seville high-speed rail linewhich has stations in the towns of Ciudad Real and Puertollano. Air travel was enabled by the opening in 2008 of theCiudad Real Central Airport,which started to have international flights in June 2010. However, the link to the high-speed railway line was never built and the airport had financial difficulties and went into administration in October of the same year. In September 2015, it was reported that a new owner had purchased the airport.

See also

• List of municipalities in Ciudad Real