Meseta Central

The Meseta Central (lit. 'central tableland', sometimes referred to in English as Inner Plateau) is one of the basic geographical units of the Iberian Peninsula. It consists of a plateau covering a large part of the latter's interior.

Developed during the 19th century, the concept of meseta central was handled by Heinrich Moritz Willkomm in lower case, and eventually Salvador Calderón y Arana [es] was reportedly the first in using it in upper case, giving it a toponymic nature.^[1] The concept was also brought forward by José Macpherson y Hemas,^[2] while the writers of the Spanish Generation of '98 greatly contributed to its popularisation among the public sphere.^[3]

Topographic map of the Iberian Peninsula, in which the 'Meseta Central' appears labeled by its Spanish name. — Topographic map of the Iberian Peninsula, in which the *Meseta Central* appears labeled by its Spanish name.

The Sistema Central mountain range cuts across the Meseta Central, leaving the Submeseta Norte sub-unit (with heights mostly ranging from 700 to 800 m) to the North and the Submeseta Sur (with heights mostly ranging from 600 to 700 m) to the South.^[4] Respectively, the former is drained by the Douro while the latter is drained by the Tagus and the Guadiana.^[4] The meseta is flanked by relief units such as the Montes de León, the Galician Massif, the Cantabrian Range, the Basque Mountains, the Sistema Ibérico and Sierra Morena.^[4]