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Caceres, Spain (Province)

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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A province of western Spain, formed in 1833 of districts taken from Estremadura, and bounded on the N. by Salamanca and Avila, E. by Toledo, S. by Badajoz, and W. by Portugal. Pop. (1900) 362,164; area, 7667 sq. m. Caceres is the largest of Spanish provinces, after Badajoz, and one of the most thinly peopled, although the number of its inhabitants steadily increases. Except for the mountainous north, where the Sierra de Gata and the Sierra de Gredos mark respectively the boundaries of Salamanca and Avila, and in the south-east, where there are several lower ranges, almost the entire surface is flat or undulating, with wide tracts of moorland and thin pasture. There is little forest and many districts suffer from drought. The whole province, except the extreme south, belongs to the basin of the river Tagus, which flows from east to west through the central districts, and is joined by several tributaries, notably the Alagon and Tietar, from the north, and the Salor and Almonte from the south. The climate is temperate except in summer, when hot east winds prevail. Fair quantities of grain and olives are raised, but as a stock-breeding province Caceres ranks second only to Badajoz. In 1900 its flocks and herds numbered more than 1,000,000 head. It is famed for its sheep and pigs, and exports wool, hams and the red sausages called embutidos. Its mineral resources are comparatively insignificant. The total number of mines at work in 1903 was only nine; their output consisted of phosphates, with a small amount of zinc and tin. Brandy, leather and cork goods, and coarse woollen stuffs are manufactured in many of the towns, but the backwardness of education, the lack of good roads, and the general poverty retard the development of commerce. The more northerly of the two MadridLisbon railways enters the province on the east; passes south of Plasencia, where it is joined by the railway from Salamanca, on the north; and reaches the Portuguese frontier at Valencia de Alcantara. This line is supplemented by a branch from Arroyo to the city of Caceres, and thence southwards to Merida in Badajoz. Here it meets the railways from Seville and Cordova. The principal towns of Caceres are Caceres (pop. 1900, 16,933) Alcantara (3248), famous for its Roman bridge; Plasencia (8208); Trujillo (12,51 2), and Valencia de Alcantara (9417). These are described in separate articles. Arroyo, or Arroyo del Puerco (7094), is an important agricultural market. (See also EsTRE MADURA.)