Editing Province of Ciudad Real

{{Short description|Province of Spain}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                   = Province of Ciudad Real
| native_name            = {{native name|es|Provincia de Ciudad Real}}
| type                   = [[Provinces of Spain|Province]]
| image_skyline          = 
| image_alt              = 
| image_caption          = 
| image_flag             = Flag Ciudad Real Province.svg
| flag_size              = 
| flag_alt               = 
| image_shield           = Coat of Arms of Ciudad Real Province.svg
| shield_size            = 
| shield_alt             = 
| motto                  = 
| anthem                 = 
| image_map              = Ciudad Real in Spain.svg
| map_alt                = 
| map_caption            = Map of Spain with Province of Ciudad Real highlighted
| pushpin_map            = 
| pushpin_map_caption    = 
| coordinates            = {{coord|39|00|N|4|00|W|region:ES_type:adm2nd_source:GNS-enwiki|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_footnotes  = 
| subdivision_type       = Country
| subdivision_name       = [[Spain]]
| subdivision_type1      = [[Autonomous community]]
| subdivision_name1      = [[Castile–La Mancha]]
| established_title      = 
| established_date       = 
| seat_type              = Capital
| seat                   = [[Ciudad Real]]
| government_type        = 
| governing_body         = [[Provincial Deputation of Ciudad Real]]
| government_footnotes   = 
| leader_party           = [[Spanish Socialist Workers' Party|PSOE]]
| leader_title           = President
| leader_name            = [[Nemesio de Lara Guerrero]]
| area_footnotes         = 
| area_total_km2         = 19813
| area_rank              = [[List of Spanish provinces by area|Ranked 3rd]]
| area_note              = 3.93% of Spain
| elevation_footnotes    = 
| elevation_m            = 
| blank_name_sec1        = Official language(s)
| blank_info_sec1        = [[Spanish language|Spanish]]
| population_footnotes   = 
| population_total       = 524,962
| population_as_of       = 2013
| population_rank        = [[List of Spanish provinces by population|Ranked 30th]]
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym     = Ciudarrealeños
| population_note        = 1.13% of Spain
| blank_name_sec2        = Parliament
| blank_info_sec2        = [[Cortes Generales]]
| blank1_name_sec2       = [[Congress of Deputies (Spain)|Congress seats]]
| blank1_info_sec2       = 
| blank2_name_sec2       = [[Spanish Senate|Senate seats]]
| blank2_info_sec2       = 
| blank3_name_sec2       = 
| blank3_info_sec2       = 
| time_zone              = 
| utc_offset             = 
| time_zone_DST          = 
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| timezone1              = 
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| timezone1_DST          = 
| utc_offset1_DST        = 
| postal_code_type       = 
| postal_code            = 
| area_code_type         = 
| area_code              = 
| website                = {{URL|www.dipucr.es}}
| footnotes              = 
}}

The '''province of Ciudad Real''' ({{IPA|es|θjuˈðað reˈal|lang|Pronunciation of Ciudad Real in Spanish.ogg}}) is a [[Provinces of Spain|province]] in the southwestern part of the [[Autonomous communities of Spain|autonomous community]] of [[Castile-La Mancha]], [[Spain]]. It is bordered by the provinces of [[Province of Cuenca|Cuenca]], [[Province of Albacete|Albacete]], [[Province of Jaén (Spain)|Jaén]], [[Province of Córdoba (Spain)|Córdoba]], [[Province of Badajoz|Badajoz]], and [[Province of Toledo|Toledo]]. It is partly located in the old [[natural region]] of [[La Mancha]]. Its capital is [[Ciudad Real]]. It is the third largest province by area in all of [[Spain]], after [[Province of Cáceres|Cáceres]] and Badajoz. The historic [[Comarcas of Spain|comarca]] [[Campo de Calatrava]] is located in the center of the province.

==History==
Ciudad Real was one of the 49 provinces in which Spain was divided in the [[1833 territorial division of Spain|territorial 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 the [[Autonomous communities of Spain|autonomous community]] of [[Castilla-La Mancha]] on 15 November 1978, as one of several autonomous regions. The new, hyphenated name was chosen to join the historic [[Castile (historical region)|Castilla region]], which extended beyond the new autonomous region, and that of the smaller historic province of [[La 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, [[Province of Albacete|Albacete]], Ciudad Real, [[Province of Cuenca|Cuenca]], [[Province of Guadalajara|Guadalajara]], and [[Province of Toledo|Toledo]], each named after its largest town and capital city.<ref>The statute is L.O. [ley orgánica, "organic law"] 9/1982</ref>

==Geography==
The province of Ciudad Real is located in central Spain and is the third largest province in the country with an area of {{convert|19813|km2|mi2|0|abbr=on}}. 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 the [[Province of Córdoba (Spain)|Provinces of Córdoba]] and [[Province of Jaén (Spain)|Jaén]], and to the west the [[Province of Badajoz]]. To the northwest of the province is a separate area, the [[Enclave and exclave|exclave]] of [[Anchuras]], which is sandwiched between the [[Province of Badajoz]] and the [[Province of Toledo]]. The provincial capital is [[Ciudad Real]]. Part of the province is part of the plateau of [[La Mancha]], an elevated but fertile area averaging {{convert|500|to|600|m|ft|-2}} above sea level, the highest elevation being in the comarca of [[Campo de Montiel (Ciudad Real)|Campo de Montiel]] at {{convert|900|m|ft|-1}}. The main river, crossing the province from east to west, is the [[Guadiana]], and its right bank tributary, the [[Cigüela]].<ref name=Philips>{{cite book |title=Philips' Modern School Atlas |year=1973 |publisher=George Philip and Son, Ltd. |isbn=0-540-05278-7 |page=37 }}</ref>

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.<ref name=Baskett>{{cite book|author1=Baskett, Simon |author2=Ellingham, Mark |author3= Brown, Jules|author4=Fisher, John |author5= Dubin, Marc Stephen|title=The Rough Guide to Spain|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GeMY4BGzNiMC&pg=PA210 |year=2004 |publisher=Rough Guides |isbn=978-1-84353-261-3 |pages=210–213}}</ref>

The largest towns in the province are [[Ciudad Real]], with a population of 74,960 at the 2014 census, [[Puertollano]] with 50,608, [[Tomelloso]] with 38,080, [[Alcázar de San Juan]] with 31,650, and [[Valdepeñas]] with 30,705. Other larger municipalities with over ten thousand inhabitants are [[Manzanares, Ciudad Real|Manzanares]], [[Daimiel]], [[La Solana]], [[Miguelturra]], [[Campo de Criptana]], [[Socuéllamos]], [[Bolaños de Calatrava]] and [[Villarrubia de los Ojos]].

The [[Tablas de Daimiel National Park]] is 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 neighbouring [[dryland farming]] areas.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.magrama.gob.es/es/red-parques-nacionales/nuestros-parques/daimiel/ |title=Parque Nacional de las Tablas de Daimiel |work=Red de Parques Nacionales |publisher=Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente |access-date=7 October 2015}}</ref> The [[Cabañeros National Park]] is shared with the neighbouring [[Province of Toledo]]. It has an area of {{convert|390|km2}} 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.magrama.gob.es/es/red-parques-nacionales/nuestros-parques/cabaneros/ |title=Parque Nacional de Cabañeros |work=Red de Parques Nacionales |publisher=Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente |access-date=7 October 2015}}</ref>

In the centre of the province is the [[Campo de Calatrava]], the geology of which is volcanic. The [[Campo de Calatrava Volcanic Field]] covers an area of {{convert|5000|km2|mi2}} and has more than three hundred individual structures. It is composed of [[Volcanic cone|pyroclastic cones]], [[lava dome]]s and [[maar]]s, and rises to {{convert|1117|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}. The last known eruption was around 3,600 BC.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=210040 |title=Calatrava volcanic field |year=2013 |work=Global volcanism program |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=5 October 2015}}</ref>

==Population development==
The historical population is given in the following chart:
<timeline>
Colors=
 id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9)
 id:darkgrey  value:gray(0.7)
 id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1)

ImageSize  = width:650 height:auto barincrement:30
PlotArea   = left:40 bottom:40 top:20 right:20
DateFormat = x.y
Period     = from:0 till:600
TimeAxis   = orientation:horizontal
AlignBars  = late
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:100 start:0
ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:50 start:0
BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo

PlotData=
  color:skyblue width:20 shift:(-50,-5) fontsize:M anchor:till
 bar:1877 from:0 till:255 text:254,722
 bar:1887 from:0 till:287 text:287,142
 bar:1900 from:0 till:319 text:318,991
 bar:1910 from:0 till:376 text:375,632
 bar:1920 from:0 till:428 text:428,194
 bar:1930 from:0 till:491 text:491,201
 bar:1940 from:0 till:538 text:537,549
 bar:1950 from:0 till:573 text:572,589
 bar:1960 from:0 till:589 text:589,365
 bar:1970 from:0 till:513 text:512,821
 bar:1980 from:0 till:475 text:475,129
 bar:1990 from:0 till:475 text:475,435
 bar:2000 from:0 till:479 text:478,957
 bar:2010 from:0 till:527 text:526,628
 bar:2020 from:0 till:495 text:495,045
TextData=
 pos:(35,20) fontsize:M
 text:"Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE"
</timeline>

== Government and administration ==
{{Main|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 between [[Puerto Lápice]] and [[Almuradiel]] on 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 the [[Autovía de los Viñedos]] motorway passes through the northeastern part of the province. Railway communications are via the [[Madrid–Seville high-speed rail line]] which has stations in the towns of Ciudad Real and Puertollano. Air travel was enabled by the opening in 2008 of the [[Ciudad 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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Un grupo británico, a por el aeródromo de Ciudad Real |url=http://economia.elpais.com/economia/2015/09/14/actualidad/1442254678_848846.html |access-date=20 October 2015 |work=El País |publisher=Ediciones El País S.L. |date=14 Sep 2015|language=es}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Commons category}}
*[[List of municipalities in Ciudad Real]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{Provinces of Castile–La Mancha}}
{{Provinces of Spain}}
{{Portal bar|Spain}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciudad Real, Province of}}
[[Category:Province of Ciudad Real| ]]
[[Category:Provinces of Castilla–La Mancha]]