The
Bidasoa is a river in the Basque Country of northern
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and southern
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
that runs largely south to north. Named as such downstream of the small town of Oronoz-Mugairi (municipality of
BaztanBaztan is a municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain. It is located from Pamplona, the capital of Navarre. It is the largest municipality in Navarre, with some 376.8 km2 and just over 8,000 inhabitants....
) in the province of
NavarreNavarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
, the river actually results from the merge of several streams near the village
Erratzu, with the stream
BaztanBaztan is a municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain. It is located from Pamplona, the capital of Navarre. It is the largest municipality in Navarre, with some 376.8 km2 and just over 8,000 inhabitants....
that rises at the north-eastern side of the mount
AutzaThe Hautza or Autza, is a mountain on the Spanish side of the border in the Basque Country. It is located between Elizondo in Baztan and Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry .-Geography:...
(1,306 m) being considered the source of the
Bidasoa. It joins the Cantabrian Sea (
Bay of BiscayThe Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
) between the towns of
HendayeHendaye is the most south-westerly town and commune in France, lying in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department and located in the traditional province Lapurdi of the French Basque Country...
and
HondarribiaHondarribia is a town situated on the west shore of Bidasoa river's mouth, in Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Spain. The border town is sited on a little promontory facing Hendaye over the Txingudi bay. The town holds an ancient old quarter with walls and a castle...
.
The river is best known for establishing the borderline at its lower tract. This stretch is crossed not only by aircraft at low height but by important European communication axes, namely AP8 E5 E80 - E70 A63 (motorway, connection at the Biriatu toll), main roads N1 - N10 (connection at the roundabout of
Saizar by the river) and major railways (connecting the
RENFERenfe Operadora is the state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains on the 1668-mm "Iberian gauge" and 1435-mm "European gauge" networks of the Spanish national railway infrastructure company ADIF .- History :The name RENFE is derived from that of the former Spanish National...
and
SNCFThe SNCF , is France's national state-owned railway company. SNCF operates the country's national rail services, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network...
networks). Besides these major lines, other regional ones cross it too, e.g. regional railway
EuskoTrenEuskoTren is a commuter rail service which operates in the Basque Country provinces of Biscay and Gipuzkoa. It is one of the three commercial brands of the public society owned by the Basque Government, Eusko Trenbideak - Ferrocarriles Vascos...
(terminus in
HendayeHendaye is the most south-westerly town and commune in France, lying in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department and located in the traditional province Lapurdi of the French Basque Country...
) and another double bridge (pedestrians/vehicles) joining the towns on the border, i.e. the historical Santiago Bridge (
Way of St. JamesThe Way of St. James extends from all corners of Europe, and even North Africa, on its way to Santiago de Compostela and Finisterre.The local authorities try to restore many of the ancient routes, even those used in a limited period, in the interest of tourism....
). At this stage of the river, urban landscape prevails (built-up area).
Before pouring its waters into the ocean, it forms a bay called Txingudi located between these towns and
IrunIrun is a town of the Bidasoa-Txingudi region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain...
, the site being designated
Wetland of International Importance in 2002, with a total area of 1.28 km
2. The banks of
HondarribiaHondarribia is a town situated on the west shore of Bidasoa river's mouth, in Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Spain. The border town is sited on a little promontory facing Hendaye over the Txingudi bay. The town holds an ancient old quarter with walls and a castle...
hold the minor
San Sebastian AirportSan Sebastián Airport is the airport serving San Sebastián in Basque Country, Spain. Despite its name, the facilities are located in the municipality of Hondarribia, with the runway stretching like a spit of land along the river Bidasoa right on the Spanish-French border.The airport serves...
serving domestic flights and currently mired in controversy over its lengthening and upgrading scheme.
Pronunciation and etymology
The river comprises an area of linguistic contact, so it is pronounced differently depending on the language, namely biˈdas̺oa in
BasqueBasque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
, biðaˈsoa in
SpanishSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, and bidasoa in
FrenchFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. Linguistic and historic research point to the name stemming from
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
phrase "Via ad Oiasso" (later corrupting into Basque
Bidasoa) on account of the road that linked at Roman times Basque town
PompaeloPamplona is the historial capital city of Navarre, in Spain, and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Fermín festival, from July 6 to 14, in which the running of the bulls is one of the main attractions...
with
OiassoOiasso, Oiasona or Oiarso was a Basque Roman town located on the left bank of the Bidasoa estuary in the Bay of Biscay . Archaeological evidence unearthed recently pinpoints the core area of Oiasso in the old quarter of Irun by the Spanish-French border, where harbour and bath remains have been...
, which may have run along the river.
Course of the river and tributaries
The
Bidasoa flows through much of its 66 km length over
NavarreNavarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
se territory, except for the last 10 km, where it establishes the borderline between France and Spain, as well as the boundary between the
BasqueThe Basque Country is the name given to the home of the Basque people in the western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast....
provinces of Gipuzkoa and
LabourdLabourd is a former French province and part of the present-day Pyrénées Atlantiques département. It is historically one of the seven provinces of the traditional Basque Country....
. In line with the distribution of the river's length, the bulk of its watershed's area lies on
NavarreNavarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
(684 km
2). The basin holds 105 permanent streams and rivers that number 497 km, the region being drenched in rains regularly. The Navarrese side of the basin (rural landscape) is inhabited by 22,000 inhabitants. 70% of its population have the sewage treated before spilling to the river.
But for the first 15-odd kilometres, the river clings to the north to south disposition of other neighbouring rivers of Gipuzkoa joining the
Bay of BiscayThe Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
, e.g.
UrumeaThe Urumea a" 'thin') is a river in the Basque Country at the north of the Iberian Peninsula. It's one of a series of Basque rivers flowing into the Bay of Biscay and best known for being the river flowing to the sea on the city of San Sebastian...
,
OriaThe Oria is a river in the Basque Country at the north of the Iberian Peninsula. It's one of a series of Basque rivers flowing into the Bay of Biscay and the main river of the province Gipuzkoa in volume , length and basin , the main feature of these rivers aligned south to north being their...
, etc. Strengthened by the waters harvested from the sides of the pass of Belate, downstream of
DoneztebeDoneztebe-Santesteban is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain.-External links:*...
the river heads north and crosses the town of Bera at the north end of Navarre before entering Gipuzkoa at
Endarlatsa. From the town of Doneztebe on, the main road N-121 runs along till the roundabout across the river from the toll of Biriatu by the AP-8 (motorway). Next comes Behobia and the major towns on the shores of the estuary.
The main tributaries of the
Bidasoa are the minor rivers Zeberia (length 10,80 km),
EzkurraEzkurra is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain. The town's name is from the Basque language of the locals.-External links:*...
(20,90 km), Latsa (11,10 km) and Endara (9,90 km). Additionally, further small rivers and streams feed the
Bidasoa all along.
Fishing and environmental challenges
The Navarrese tract of the river is a preferred destination for fishing enthusiasts, the river being home to several native fish species, namely
eelEels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...
(
Anguilla anguilla),
salmonSalmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
(
Salmo palar),
troutThe brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
(
Salmo trutta),
bullheadThe bullhead is a freshwater fish that is widely distributed in Europe, mainly in rivers. It is a member of the Cottidae family, a type of sculpin...
(
Cottus gobio),
Barbatula barbatula,
Phoxinus phoxinusThe Common minnow is a species offreshwater fish. It is a member of the carpfamily oforder Cypriniformes, and is the type species ofgenus Phoxinus. It is ubiquitous throughout much of Eurasia,...
,
gudgeonGudgeon is a common name for a number of small freshwater fishes of the families Cyprinidae, Eleotridae or Ptereleotridae. Most gudgeons are elongate, bottom-dwelling fish, many of which live in rapids and other fast moving water....
(
Gobio lozanoi),
sea lampreyThe sea lamprey is a parasitic lamprey found on the Atlantic coasts of Europe and North America, in the western Mediterranean Sea, and in the Great Lakes. It is brown, gray, or black on its back and white or gray on the underside and can grow up to 90 cm long. Sea lampreys prey on a wide...
(
Petromyzon marinus),
allis shadThe allis shad is a species of fish in the Clupeidae family.-Location:It is found in Algeria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.-Biology and...
(
Alosa alosa),
flounderThe flounder is an ocean-dwelling flatfish species that is found in coastal lagoons and estuaries of the Northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.-Taxonomy:There are a number of geographical and taxonomical species to which flounder belong.*Western Atlantic...
(
Platichthys flesus) and grey mullet (
Chelon labrosus), some of them declared endangered species and highly interesting (especially bullhead and salmon). Moreover, a species of the
EbroThe Ebro or Ebre is one of the most important rivers in the Iberian Peninsula. It is the biggest river by discharge volume in Spain.The Ebro flows through the following cities:*Reinosa in Cantabria.*Miranda de Ebro in Castile and León....
, i.e.
Chondrostoma miegiiParachondrostoma miegii is a species of cyprinid fish endemic to Spain.Its natural habitat is rivers.It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:* Crivelli, A.J. 2005. . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
, has been introduced in the last 30–40 years on the lower tract of the
Bidasoa, thereafter extending gradually upstream.
As a result, overfishing has become a major problem for the river's fauna, with special pressure put on salmon migrating upstream to spawn. They don't make it to their goal and die before spawning, either falling prey to fishers' bait or an inability to overcome hydroelectric power stations (128 over all the course) and the 114 related dams, since 63% of them prevent migratory fish from achieving their purpose. Schemes by the Regional Government of Navarre are underway with a view to handling the issue.
See also
- List of rivers of Spain
- Île des Faisans
- Battle of the Bidassoa (1813)
In the Battle of the Bidassoa on 7 October 1813 the Allied army of Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington wrested a foothold on French soil from Nicolas Soult's French army. The Allied troops overran the French lines behind the Bidassoa River on the coast and along the Pyrenees crest between the...
- Bidasoa-Txingudi