La Mancha is a region in central Spain that is part of the community Castile-La Mancha. La Mancha includes the provinces of Toledo, Albacete, Cuenca, Guadalajara and Ciudad Real. Toledo, once the capital of Spain, is the capital of Castile-La Mancha. The area of Castile-La Mancha is 79,462sq.km., which ranks 3rd among all Spanish communities, and has a population of 1,894,667, which ranks 9th. The landscape can mostly be characterized by large plain fields. La Mancha has a continental climate with strong fluctuations. The plains are drained primarily by the rivers Tagus and Guadiana Rivers. The name La Mancha spawns from the Arabic word “manxa”, which translates to “parched earth.” La Mancha has become famous for its windmills, as popularized in Don Quixote.
The economy of this region is primarily fueled by dry farming, agriculture and animal husbandry. Chief products include wheat, grapes, sunflowers, saffron and cotton. La Mancha is also home to Spain's best cheese, Manchengo, along with the world's largest vineyard. For the most part, La Mancha has very little industry outside of Ciudad Real and manufacturing occurs on a small scale. This region also lacks energy sources and is strained for electricity in many places. In recent years a trend has developed among young men migrating to Madrid looking for work and better pay.
La Mancha is a region in central Spain that is part of the community Castile-La Mancha. La Mancha includes the provinces of Toledo, Albacete, Cuenca, Guadalajara and Ciudad Real. Toledo, once the capital of Spain, is the capital of Castile-La Mancha. The area of Castile-La Mancha is 79,462sq.km., which ranks 3rd among all Spanish communities, and has a population of 1,894,667, which ranks 9th. The landscape can mostly be characterized by large plain fields. La Mancha has a continental climate with strong fluctuations. The plains are drained primarily by the rivers Tagus and Guadiana Rivers. The name La Mancha spawns from the Arabic word “manxa”, which translates to “parched earth.” La Mancha has become famous for its windmills, as popularized in Don Quixote.
The economy of this region is primarily fueled by dry farming, agriculture and animal husbandry. Chief products include wheat, grapes, sunflowers, saffron and cotton. La Mancha is also home to Spain's best cheese, Manchengo, along with the world's largest vineyard. For the most part, La Mancha has very little industry outside of Ciudad Real and manufacturing occurs on a small scale. This region also lacks energy sources and is strained for electricity in many places. In recent years a trend has developed among young men migrating to Madrid looking for work and better pay.
Works Cited:
"Castile La Mancha." Yahoo! 1 Feb. 2007 <http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry/CastileLa>.
"Castile La Mancha." Spanish Living. 1 Feb. 2007
<http://www.spanish-living.com/regional/indexR_Castilla_La_Mancha.htm>.
"Castile-La Mancha." Wikipedia. 1 Feb. 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castile-La_Mancha>.
"La Mancha." Wikipedia. 1 Feb. 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Mancha>.