Spain - Basque Country

The Basque Country lies in the north of Spain and basks 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 abundant cliffs and sheer rock faces.

The most important feature of its orography is formed by the so-called 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 range in the west, where the first sierras of the range start to appear.

In spite of the many mountains in the region, the altitude of its peaks is relatively low. The most significant is Aitzkorri Peak at 1,544 metres high, and is the highest summit in the Basque country.

Most of the Basque Country´s water supply comes from Cantabria.

The most notable rivers in the region include 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.