Leonese - Orientation

Leon is a province of northern Spain, bordered on the north by Asturias, on the south by Zamorra, on the east by Patencia, and on the west by Galicia. Its capital, also called Leon, is located roughly at the center of the province, on the Torio and Bernesga rivers at 42°37′ N and 5°30′ W. The land is Generally mountainous, extending some 9,600 square kilometers, and is largely rural in character. There are extensive wood-lands, wastelands, and natural pastures. Except along the Several rivers of the province, the soils are generally poor, best suited to the cultivation of cereals. Winters can be cold, and drought in summer is not uncommon—this region does not partake of the Mediterranean climatic influences felt in the more southerly regions of Spain.

The ratio of persons to land in Leon is low, and much of the territory is unsettled and undeveloped today. Over the last several decades, population has increased only slowly, more as a result of a lowered death rate than any rise in birth-rates. Migration out of the rural areas also has been a Longstanding factor in keeping demographic pressures low.

Leonese is one of the many dialects of Spanish, not sufficiently divergent to be considered a language in its own right.