Enkarterri (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

: ''Las Encartaciones'') is a

comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...

of the province of

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

, in the Basque Country,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It is one of the seven ''eskualdeak/comarcas'' or districts that make up the province of

. Its administrative centre is

Balmaseda Balmaseda (in Basque and officially, in Spanish: ''Valmaseda'') is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country. Balmaseda is the capital city of the comarca of Enkarterri, in western Biscay and serves an impo ...

. Historically a larger region (

merindad ''Merindad'' () is a Mediaeval Spanish administrative term for a country subdivision smaller than a province but larger than a municipality. The officer in charge of a merindad was called a merino, roughly equivalent to the English ''count'' or ...

), Enkarterri stretched from the mountains that form its southern border with

Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...

and Castile-Leon in the west and south, to the river Nervion and the

Estuary of Bilbao The Estuary of Bilbao (Spanish: ''Ría de Bilbao'' / Basque: ''Bilboko Itsasadarra'') lies at the common mouth of the rivers Nervion, Ibaizabal and Cadagua, which drain most of Biscay and part of Alava in the Basque Country, Spain. In this insta ...

in the east – including the industrial municipalities of Gallarta,

Muskiz Muskiz is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. Neighborhoods Muskiz is administratively divided into six neighborhoods or wards: Demography Economy ...

Ortuella Ortuella is a town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, northern Spain. Nowadays part of Greater Bilbao region, until ...

Portugalete Portugalete is a town lying to the west of Bilbao in the province of Biscay in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, northern Spain. The town has 45,766 inhabitants (2019 census) and is part of Bilbao's metropolitan area. It is located a ...

Santurtzi Santurtzi ( es, Santurce; eu, Santurtzi ) is a port town in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, Spain. It is located in the Bilbao Abra bay, near the mouth of the Nervión river, on its left bank, 14 km dow ...

Sestao Sestao is a town and municipality of 27,296 inhabitants located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. It is in the left bank of the Estuary of Bilbao and part of Bilbao's metropolitan area. Se ...

, Trapagaran and

Zierbena Zierbena is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. Ferry port The ferry port in Zierbena (which is known to some as Bilbao Ferry Port) has two departures and arr ...

. Nowadays the name usually refers only to the rural western part of the historical territory, while the eastern urban area is known as the

Left Bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography, as follows. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrai ...

(''Margen Izquierda'' / ''Ezkerraldea'') and is part of the

Greater Bilbao Greater Bilbao (Basque: ''Bilboaldea'', Spanish: ''Gran Bilbao'') is an administrative division of the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, Spain. It is one of the seven comarcas of Biscay and the most populated one. The capital city of Gr ...

comarca (together with

Barakaldo Barakaldo ( es, Baracaldo; eu, Barakaldo ) is a municipality located in the Biscay province in the Basque Country. Located on the Left Bank of the Estuary of Bilbao, the city is part of Greater Bilbao, has a population at 100,881. Barakaldo ha ...

, which used to belong to the neighbouring merindad of

Uribe The Merindad de Uribe or Uribealdea is a historical subdivision of Biscay, Basque Country, Spain. It contained most of the municipalities now within the comarca of Greater Bilbao in the Bilbao metropolitan area (other than the majority of the '' ...

Geography

Enkarterri is located at the northwest of the province of

. It borders the community of

to the west, and the

Province of Burgos The Province of Burgos is a province of northern Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered by the provinces of Palencia, Cantabria, Vizcaya, Álava, La Rioja, Soria, Segovia, and Valladolid. ...

(

Castile and León Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain. It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of the ...

) and the province of

Álava Álava ( in Spanish) or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Álava, former medieval Catholic bishopric and now Latin titular see. Its ca ...

, also in the Basque Country, to the south. The river

Kadagua The Cadagua or Kadagua River drains the Biscayan area of Encartaciones (), from the Castilian valley of Mena to Barakaldo and Bilbao, where it forms the border between these municipalities and ends at the Estuary of Bilbao The Estuary of Bilbao ...

crosses the region and drains most of it.

Municipalities

External links

Official regional web site (in Basque and Spanish)
Comarcas of Biscay {{basque-geo-stub