BURGOS, a province of northern Spain which includes the enclave of Trevino in the province of Alava. Pop. (193o) 355,299; area 5,484sq.m. The province extends from the main Cantabrian watershed, beyond the Ebro, in the north, to south of the river Douro. In the east it marches with Logrono and Soria in the heart of the Demanda and Urbion massifs which separate Old Castile from the middle Ebro. From these massifs it descends westwards and southwards to the wide stretches of flat ground occupying the centre of the northern part of the central plateau. The Pancorbo gorge, cut across the Montes Obarenes in the north-east, gives a line of communication between the basin of Miranda de Ebro and the rest of the province, and at the same time between Alava and Old Castile. The Ebro runs eastwards through the northern half of the province, but is not navigable. The Douro, or Duero, crosses the southern half, running west north-west ; it also is unnavigable in its upper valley. The other important streams are the Pisuerga, flowing south towards Palencia and Valladolid, and the Arlanzon, which flows through Burgos for over 75m.
Burgos is one of the great forest provinces of Spain, with over 3oo,000ac. of pine, oak, beech and other species under State management (1924), while vast ranges of almost uninhabited upland serve as pasture for the flocks, which in most years exceed a million head of sheep. Lambs are exported to Bilbao and Madrid. Goats, horned cattle, horses, mules and swine are very numerous, but little interest is taken in the improvement of breeds. Cereal cultivation—wheat (1925) occupying 494,000ac., or two-fif the of the cultivated area—is the basis of the agriculture of this province, of which the centre and south form part of the cereal zone par excellence of Spain : equipment is, on the whole, primitive, but farmers' co-operative societies exist to provide agricultural credit and facilitate the purchase of implements and fertilizers ; and an increased yield per acre, together with a fall in the wheat acreage since 1922, suggests improvement in methods and a check to the wasteful process of breaking up natural pasture for ploughland. The valleys of the Duero and Arlanzon produce good wine, and are agriculturally important for their more equable climate, their good communications, and their irrigation-works, actual and projected. Soft coal (used for briquettes), mica, china clay and salt are obtained in small quantities, and oil-bearing lands north of the capital were under investigation (1925). The in dustries of the province are on a small scale, the ancient woollen, linen and hempen manufactures surviving in small factories and as cottage industries. Hydro-electric power and light are avail able ; the main roads are good, and numerous motor services have superseded the mule and horse-drawn coaches (1926). The Northern railways from Madrid to the French frontier cross the province in the central districts: the Valladolid–Bilbao line in the north ; and the Valladolid–Saragossa line in the south. The Ontaneda–Burgos–Soria–Calatayud railway, commenced in 1925, will establish direct communication between the Cantabrian sea at Santander and the Mediterranean at Valencia. The only im portant town in the province is Burgos (40,061) . The country towns and villages are inhabited by a notably intelligent and in dependent peasantry—petty farmers, shepherds and f oresters whose physical type is northern rather than Mediterranean; and Burgos stands fourth or fifth in Spain in respect of elementary education, above the rich provinces of Biscay and Barcelona. But the extreme subdivision of the peasants' holdings forces numbers of men to migrate to the Basque provinces, Barcelona and the Argentine republic, and consequently population has declined since the beginning of this century, despite the excess of births over deaths.
See M. Anibarro and M. Rives, Intento de un diccionario biogrdfico y bibliografico de autores de la provincia de Burgos (Madrid, 189o) Burgos y su provincia, anon. (Vitoria, 1898) .