LAS HURDES

region of western Spain in Cceres provincia, in the Extremadura comunidad autnoma (autonomous community), northwest of Plasencia. The high plateau of Salamanca in the central Cordillera Ridge rises almost imperceptibly to the western ranges of the Sierra de Pea de Francia, which on their southern flank have been fractured and plunge precipitously more than 1,000 feet (300 m) to the Alagn Basin. These step mountains (which were early deforested and are mostly barren) comprise Las Hurdes, a very poor region that is remote from the rest of the country. It consists of a land area of about 180 square miles (470 square km). Until the 16th century, the three parallel valleys of Las Hurdes were legendary as the home of evil spirits and savage peoples. The Hurdanos who inhabit the region are thought originally to have been political or religious refugees. They remain distinct and inhabit hamlets on the hard slates of the Sierra de Gata to the southwest. Their meagre economy is based upon stock raising, which does not adequately support the region's population of about 6,000. Before the Spanish Civil War (193639), a new road was built from La Alberca (a national monument and site of a ruined Carmelite monastery built in 1599 to exorcise the region's evil spirits) to Las Batuecas Valley.