Seven in one, a country beyond borders
The administrative division of the Basque Country (Euskal Herria in Basque) is surprising, since the country stretches across two nations, France and Spain. This has given rise to bloody conflicts in the past, and is still a source of concern for a minority of Basques. Unlike the French Basque Country, the Spanish Basque Country is officially recognized as an autonomous community by the Spanish state.
So, traditionally, the Basque Country is described as the union of seven provinces, or historical territories. This definition of the Basque borders, which vary according to culture and ethnicity, is based on the work Gero, published in 1643 by the writer Axular. Gero is considered by the Basque Language Academy to be the origin of this administrative division.
A Basque expression explains this principle: Zazpiak Bat, meaning "seven in one". Three provinces north of the Pyrenees form the French Basque Country (or Northern Basque Country, Iparralde in Basque): Labourd (capital Bayonne), Soule (capital Mauléon-Licharre) and Basse-Navarre, whose capital is Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. Four to the south form the Spanish Basque Country (or Southern Basque Country, Hegoalde in Basque): the Basque Autonomous Community (País Vasco in Spanish, Euskadi in Basque, 7,234 km²), which includes Alava (capital Vitoria-Gasteiz), Vizcaya (capital Bilbao) and Guipuzcoa (capital San Sebastian), and the Autonomous Community of Navarre (capital Pamplona). Today, the Basque Country as a whole covers 20,500 km² and has a population of 3 million. The authorities of the Spanish Basque Country also lay claim to the enclaves of Treviño (Castilla y León) and Valle de Villaverde (Cantabria).
Although not part of the Basque Country, the Rioja region is also covered in this guide, due to its geographical and cultural proximity to its illustrious neighbor. Crossed by the Ebro and Oja rivers, this Spanish autonomous community is bordered by the Basque Country to the north, Navarre to the north and east, Aragon to the east and Castilla y León to the south and west. It covers some 5,000 km², with a population of 323,000. The Community is divided into three regions, according to the bed of the River Ebro: Rioja Alta (Upper Rioja), Rioja Media (Middle Rioja) and Rioja Baja (Lower Rioja), a division also found among the famous wine estates. La Rioja's main towns are Logroño, its capital (151,113 inhabitants), Calahorra (23,923 inhabitants), Arnedo (14,815 inhabitants) and Haro (12,203 inhabitants).
From snowy ridges to cultivated plateaus
Renowned for its natural beauty, the Basque Country is characterized by its geographical diversity. Bathed to the north by the waters of the Bay of Biscay and to the south by the River Ebro, the region is crossed by a small mountain range, the Basque Mountains, which rise between the Cantabrian mountain range to the west and the Pyrenees to the east. On the Atlantic side, the mountain ranges collide with the ocean, forming the jagged cliffs of the Flysch. For 200 km, a sculptural coastline, renowned for its waves and splendour, unfurls and is the pride of the locals. Two of the region's biggest cities are located here, San Sebastian and Bilbao.
The Sierra de Aralar (1,428 m), the Aitzkorri massif (1,546 m) and Mount Gorbeia (1,475 m) form a threshold that separates the coastal and mountainous region of the provinces of Guipúzcoa and Vizcaya from the inland plains of the province of Álava. This Mediterranean-influenced slope is characterized by dry, fertile plains, ideal for agriculture and vine-growing. The Autonomous Community of the Basque Country covers just 7,234 km², but has a high population density (299 inhabitants/km²). In fact, it's one of the most urbanized regions in Spain, along with Bilbao (over 345,000 inhabitants), San Sebastian (approx. 190,000 inhabitants) and Vitoria-Gasteiz (approx. 250,000 inhabitants). Not to mention a host of small and medium-sized towns.
Navarre, also an autonomous community, comprises three distinct landscapes: the mountainous zone (north), the central zone and the Ribera (south). The north-western zone features a rugged landscape of valleys, pastures and forests. To the northeast, the Pyrenean valleys offer a landscape of pine and beech forests. This area is home to Navarre's highest peak, the Mesa de los Tres Reyes, at 2,421 m. The central area, around Pamplona, alternates between plains and gentle hills. Finally, the south of Navarre is dominated by the fertile plains of the Ebro valley and the semi-desert expanses of the Bardenas Reales desert, a vast nature reserve of almost 400 km² studded with impressive rock formations created by erosion. Navarre is not very urbanized, and with the exception of Pamplona (population almost 200,000), is made up of small towns of less than 10,000 inhabitants and a string of villages.
As for Rioja, it extends the Ribera Navarra landscape with its irrigated farmland along the Ebro and rivers flowing from the Sierra de la Demanda. Surrounded by the Basque Country to the north, Navarre to the northeast, Aragon to the southeast and Castile to the south and west, this small region is crossed for 120 km by the Ebro River. From the Iberian Cordillera (the mountain range that runs along the north-eastern edge of Spain's central plateau), seven rivers flow down to the Ebro. In La Rioja, the river is nicknamed "the river of seven valleys". From east to west, the tributary rivers are Alhama, Cidacos, Leza, Iregua, Najerilla, Oja and Tirón. In the north of the region, in the Ebro basin, cultivated plateaus and vine-covered hills dominate the landscape. To the south, the territory is crossed by the massifs of the Iberian System, forming a landscape of rugged sierras , culminating at 2,271 m on Mount San Lorenzo. La Rioja is a land of Mediterranean forests, high mountains and lunar landscapes, summed up by two exceptional sites: the Sierra de Cebollera Natural Park and the Leza, Jubera, Cidacos and Alhama Valleys Biosphere Reserve.
