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Zamora, Spain (Province)

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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An inland province of north-western pain, one of the three into which the former province of Leon has since 1833 been divided; bounded on the W. by Portugal and Orense, N. by Leon, E. by Valladolid, and S. by Salamanca. Pop. (1900) 275,545; area, 4097 sq. M. Zamora is traversed from east to west by the river Duero or Douro, which receives within the province the Valderaduey and the Esla on the right and the Guarena on the left; the Tormes also skirts the southwestern boundary for some 25 m. Except in the north-west, where it is entered by two outlying ridges of the Cantabrian Mountains, the Sierra de la Culebra and Sierra de Pena Negra, the surface consists of a level or slightly undulating plateau; its lowest point is 1070 ft. above sea-level. Its plains, especially the valley of the Esla, yield large quantities of grain and pulse; wine and flax are also produced; and on the higher grounds large numbers of merino sheep and goats are reared, chiefly for export to Portugal. The manufactures of Zamora are unimportant. Three lines of railway, from Astorga on the N., Salamanca on the S., and Medina del Campo on the E., traverse the province and meet at the city of Zamora; there is a lack of good roads, and it is largely for this reason that the mines and extensive forests are neglected. The only towns with more than 5000 inhabitants are Zamora (pop., 1900, 16,287) and Toro (8379), which are described in separate articles. The people of the province are very poor, badly educated, and lacking in enterprise. (See also LEON.)