CIUDAD REAL, a province of central Spain, formed in 1833 of districts taken from New Castile, and bounded on the north by Toledo, north-east by Cuenca, east by Albacete, south by Jaen and Cordova and west by Badajoz. :Pop. area, 7,62osq.m. Ciudad Real is occupied in the east and centre by extensive high plains forming part of the region known as La Mancha (q.v.) and rising on the south-east to low hills. The west consists of broken hilly country bordered on the south by the parallel ridges of the Sierra de Alcudia and by the Sierra Ma drona, foreranges of the Sierra Morena. The province is drained, except on the south-east, by the Guadiana river which traverses it from east to west and receives several tributaries, notably the Gigiiela, Zancara and Bullaque on the right and the Azuel and Jabalon on the left.
The climate on the plains is oppressively hot in summer, and in winter bitterly cold winds prevail. The rainfall is scanty and prolonged droughts are common. Forests occur only on the higher ground in the west. The vegetation on the La Mancha plains is limited to poor pasture. Cereals, saffron, the olive and vine are cultivated, but agricultural development is hindered by the scantiness of the population, the aridity and poverty of the soil, the want of proper irrigation and the occasional ravages of locusts. Large numbers of sheep and goats, however, are reared on the plains and Ciudad Real is famous for its mules. Pigs are kept in the oak forests of the west, and cork is an important product of this region. Coal is mined round Puertollano, lead in various districts, and important mercury deposits at Almaden. There is no other industrial development. The roads are insuffi cient and ill-kept, especially in the north-west where they form the sole means of communication. The Madrid-Lisbon railway passes through the capital, Ciudad Real, and through Puertollano, where there is a branch line to San Quintin. Farther east, the Madrid-Linares railway passes through Alcazar de San Juan, junction for the Albacete line, and Manzanares and Valdepeiias, where branch lines link it with Ciudad Real and Puertollano re spectively. There is also a branch in the north-east to Tomelloso. The principal towns, Ciudad Real (pop. 1930, 23,401), Valde penas (26,002), Tomelloso (25,896), Puertollano (19,275), Al cazar de San Juan (24,205), Manzanares (18,309), Almodovar del Campo (13,974) and Almaden (11,846), are described in separate articles. Almagro (8,592), famous for its lace, and Daimiel (18,434) a market centre of La Mancha and site of a military aerodrome, belonged in the middle ages to the knightly order of Calatrava, formed in 1 158 to keep the Moors in check. Campo de Criptania (14,279) and La Solina (12,844) are other market towns. Education is very backward. (See also CASTILE.)