thumb|300px|Typical landscape of La Mancha in the province of Ciudad Real
La Mancha () is a natural region and comarca located in the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha (Spain), covering parts of the provinces of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca and Toledo. Its area varies according to authors: from 15,000 km<sup>2</sup> to 30,000 km<sup>2</sup> making it one of the most extensive natural plains on the Iberian Peninsula. It represents the center of the Southern Plateau, bordering the regions of Mesa de Ocaña, Montes de Toledo, Campo de Calatrava, Sierra Morena, Campo de Montiel, Campos de Hellín, Monte Ibérico-Corredor de Almansa, Manchuela, Serranía de Cuenca and La Alcarria.
Political geography
Modern definition of La Mancha
thumb|300px|Physical map centered on Castilla–La Mancha, showing the main regions and geographical features of La Mancha (in italics) and adjacent territories.
La Mancha is a natural region in the center of Castilla–La Mancha, located south of the Inner Plateau, constituting one of the most extensive plateaus on the Iberian Peninsula. Its boundaries are imprecise,
One of the definitions of La Mancha is provided by Pascual Madoz in his work Diccionario geográfico-estadístico-histórico de España y sus posesiones de Ultramar (1848):
thumb|300px|right|View of one of the windmills of Consuegra (Toledo), a typical image of the region and a visual reference to Don Quixote
Similar descriptions of La Mancha were made years later by José de Hosta (1865), or the Enciclopedia Espasa.
thumb|left|Territory encompassed by La Mancha (relative to Castilla–La Mancha) according to Madoz's description (1848), including the province of Ciudad Real and the districts of Ocaña, in their configuration at the time.
Madoz (1848) also delineates La Mancha according to the territorial division of the time: