historic provincial region, north-central Spain, generally including the limits reached by the kingdom of Castile in the 11th century. Touching the Bay of Biscay on the north, it is separated from New Castile (Castilla la Nueva), to the south, by the ranges of the Sierra de Guadarrama. In modern Spanish geographic terminology, Old Castile included the provinces of Ávila, Burgos, Logroño, Palencia, Santander, Segovia, Soria, and Valladolid. After 1979 about half the region was taken into the Castile-Leon (Castile-León) comunidad autónoma (autonomous community). For the region's history, see Castile.