Map of Old Castile and León

Spain's high central plateau, the meseta, is conveniently split in two by the Sistema Central, a long cluster of mountain ranges. Most of these (e.g., the Sierra de Guadarrama) run from north-east to south-west, but they lie side by side in such a way that they split the Spanish interior into north and south (the Sistema Central runs west-to-east from Portugal to the Sistema Iberica, another series of sierras to the east of which lies Aragón). The entire central plateau has a continental-type climate (technically, continental Mediterranean), with hot summers, cold winters and short spring and autumn, but this is especially marked in the north, unalleviated by any contact with the mildness of the Mediterranean or the warmth of Andalusia.

The Northern Meseta comprises the former kingdoms of Old Castile and León, corresponding more or less to the modern region of Castile and León. It is an immense region, the largest in the European Union, and sparsely poplutated. Its peoples are famous for being rude (as in "unsophisticated," not "impolite"), hardy and taciturn. Though not particularly fertile, its produce, particularly its wines, is some of Spain's finest. Its provinces are Ávila, Burgos, León, Palencia, Salamanca, Segovia, Soria, Valladolid and Zamora, and its main cities are the provincial capitals, plus a number of historic, often extremely picturesque towns like Ciudad Rodrigo in Salamanca, or El Burgo de Osma in Soria.