Basque country information
General information
The Basque Country lies in the north of Spain and bathes on the
Cantabrian coast. It borders the Cantabrian sea in the north,
Navarre in the east, La Rioja in the south, and Castile and Leon
and Cantabria in the west.
The Basque coast has many cliffs and sheer rock faces. One of
the most important feature of its orography is formed by the Montes
Vascos (Basque Mountains), to the south of which stretches the
plain called the Vitoria Plain or the Concha de Álava (Shell
of Álava). The northern part of the region has numerous
valleys that run parallel with the coast. The final spurs of the
Pyrenees can be found in the north east of the region on the border
with France. The Montes Vascos connect the Pyrenees with the first
few spurs of the Cantabrian mountain chains in the west. In spite
of the many mountains in the region, the altitude of its peaks
is relatively low. The most significant is Gorbea Peak with 1,544
metres being the highest summit in the Basque country. Most of
the Basque Country´s water supply comes from Cantabria.
The most important rivers in the region are Bidasoa, Urumea, Oria,
Urola, Deva, Ibaizabal and el Nervion, that are all generally
short with copious amounts of water flowing along their banks
and ending up in deep estuaries. In the south the Bayas and the
Zadorra rivers are tributaries of the river Ebro.
Basque country guide
Basque Country map |