The analysis of brittle structures and regional physiographic features in the province of Ciudad Real (Central Spain), leads to establish a model of neotectonic deformation in relation with the foreland of the eastern Betic Cordillera. In this model, a weak compressive stress field is responsible for flexural bending of the crust and the lithosphere, and the occurrence of the Neogene-Quaternary volcanism in the Campo de Calatrava