GALICIA, a province of Spain, situated in the north west angle of that kingdom ; is bounded on the south by Portugal, on the north and west by the Atlantic 0 can, and on the east by Asturias and Leon. It lies between 41° 50' and 43° 46' North Latitude, and between 6° 10' and 9° IC West Longitude, forming a very irregular kind of square, extending about 40 leagues from east to west, and 46 from north to south. It takes its name from its ancient inhabitants, the Cal laici, or Gallxci,and formerly comprehended a part of Old Castile. In its mountainous districts, as well as in those of Asturias and Biscay, the Cantabrian% resisted all the power of the Roman armies ; and in 714, presented the strongest harriers to the invasion of the Moors. Galicia was constituted a kingdom in the year 1060, by Ferdinand the Great, king of Leon and Castile, and was assigned as a province to his son Don Garcias ; but till the reign of Fer dinand and Isabella, in 1474, the inhabitants maintained, amidst their mountains and rivers, much of their original independence. The nobility, without paying great regard to the royal authority, acted as sovereigns in their respec tive tcrritories, and encouraged their vassals in their ma rauding practices. But, by the exertions of Ferdinand and Isabella, these disorders were repressed, the country civi lized, and the inhabitants attached to the Castilian mo narchy.
The country is in general covered with mountains, most of which are well wooded, and very abundant in game. An extensive mountainous chain, which proceeds from the Py renees near Roneevallos, traverses Galicia from Leon, till it terminates at Cape Finisterre, the most westerly point of land in the provinc.. The most considerable part of this branch is occupied by the mountains of the Sierra de Mon cloned°, which occupy the whole of the north-eastern ex tremity, and extends northwards as far as Cape Ortegal. The principal rivers in the province are, the Ho, Eu, or Rio de Miranda, which runs from south to north along the common boundaries of Galicia and Asturias, and falls into the Northern Ocean above Ribadco ; the Sil, which rises in the mountains to the west of Leon, and proceeding westwards in a very circuitous course of 33 leagues, joins the Mino a few leagues north of Orense ; the Mino or Minh°. (in Latin Minitts, so named from the vermilion
which is found in abundance in its vicinity,) which rises in the east of the Sierra Mondonedo, and, after a course of 52 leagues in a south-west direction, falls into the Atlantic near the port of Guardia ; the Tambra or Tamaris, which gives the name of Tamaricians to the people on its banks, and runs for the space of 20 leagues from the north east to the south-west ; the Ulla, which originates in the interior of the country, and has a course of 23 leagues in a south-east direction ; the Mandco, the Eume, and a number of others to the amount of seventy, besides an immense number of small streams.
The province of Galicia is said to have been formerly celebrated for rich mines of gold and silver ; but its metal lic productions at present are chiefly copper, lead and tin. Between Corunna and Betanzos, there are quarries of jas per and white marble ; and in other places there are found also marcassite, vitriol, sulphur, &c. The country abounds in mineral waters, and especially in hot springs, many of which are well frequented for the purpose of bathing. One part of the town of Orense, in consequence of the number of these thermal waters, which warm the air by their va pours, enjoys all the mildness of spring, while the opposite part is experiencing all the rigours of winter. There is one wonderful spring called Lousana, at the source of the river Lours, on the mountain of Cebret, which, though 20 leagues distant from the sea, and raised considerably above its level, is observed to ebb and flow with the tide. Its waters also are at one time as cold as ice, and at another extremely warm, in which latter state they are always most copious. In the forests and mountainous districts are found a variety of wild animals, particularly roebucks, hinds, stags, boars, and a great quantity of game. In its numerous rivers and extensive coasts, immense quantities of fish are taken, par ticularly salmon, sardin herrings, shad, trout, lampreys, skate, eels of all kinds, and above all the hog-fish, which has no bones, and being caught in the months of November and December, are frequently sent quite fresh into the pro vinces of Castile and Leon.