General Information

The northern plateau
The autonomous region of Castile and Leon includes much of northern Spain. Castile and Leon borders Asturias and Cantabria in the north, the Basque Country, La Rioja, Aragon, Castile-La Mancha and Madrid in the east, Extremadura and Castilla-La Mancha in the south; and Portugal and Galicia in the west.

Castile and Leon belong to the lower northern plateau with the exception of the north eastern province of Burgos that is lies in the Ebro depression. The whole area is surrounded by mountains. There are notable foothills arising from the Cantabrian mountain range in the north. The Leon mountains, also in the north, lie in the shadow of these mountains. The Iberian mountain range rises from the northeast, with numerous sierras crossing over into the region. The Sistema Central range appears in the south, and includes both the sierras of Gredos and Guadarrama. The high plateau plain, lies in the middle of these mountains encircled by lesser mountain ranges. These mountain peaks reach up to 500 and 1000 metres in height. The most important waterway is the river Duero that begins in the province of Soria, crosses the region and then heads into Portugal where it finally flows into the Atlantic. Two other important tributaries from the Tagus, the Tietar and the Alberche also begin their life in the province.

Transportation

Communications hub
It has been said on many occasions that Castile and Leon is the 'geographical heart' of Spain, which is one of the reasons why so many of the country's transport routes cross through the region.

The transport networks in the region of Castile and Leon are based around rail, road and air transport connections. The roads in the region have improved, linking the cities inside the region as well as with the rest of Spain and Portugal. All the region's towns are connected by road and rail. High-speed train links are planned, with the high-speed train (AVE) linking the Spanish capital with various cities in Castile and Leon, such as Valladolid and Segovia. The road network has vastly improved over the last few years, especially in the connections with Madrid, Galicia, Cantabria, Asturias and Catalonia. New roads have been planned as well as rail links and airports, all of which are included in the Government's Infrastructure plans for 2000-2007, as well as in the Transport and Infrastructures Plan for Castile and Leon 2002-2011.

Administration

The Regional Assembly of Castile and Leon
The region is made up of the following provinces: Avila, Burgos, Leon, Palencia, Salamanca, Valladolid, Zamora, Segovia and Soria.

The Autonomy Statute for Castile and Leon was approved in 1983. The ninth article of the statute states: 'the main regional departments are: the Regional Council of Castile and Leon, the Assembly President, and the Regional Assembly of Castile and Leon'. Castile and Leon has 83 parliamentary members in its Assembly. The delegates are known as procuradores' (solicitors), and follow an ancient tradition.

Population

Almost two and a half million inhabitants
The population of this autonomous region according to figures from the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE) as of the 1st of January 2004, after having reviewed the Inhabitants register is 2,493,918.

The population density through the provinces is as follows: Avila: 166,108, Burgos: 356,437, Leon: 492,720, Palencia: 173,990, Salamanca: 350,984, Valladolid: 510,863, Zamora: 198,524, Segovia: 152,640 and Soria: 91,652.

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