The Irati river ''(Basque: Iratiko erreka)'' is a right bank

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

Sangüesa Sangüesa (Basque: ''Zangoza'') is a city in Navarre, Spain, 44.5 kilometers from Pamplona. It lies close to the River Aragon and in 2007 had a population of 5,128. It is located on the Way of Saint James. It has been an important stopping poin ...

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

. It begins in the

Irati Forest The Irati Forest, found in the western Pyrenees, covers of the Navarre region, astride on the Soule ( Larrau) and Basse-Navarre ( Mendive and Lecumberry) provinces (France) and Navarre (Spain), framed by Mount Okabe (1,466 m) and Pic d'Orhy (2 ...

, then feeds the water retenue of '''Itoiz''.

Path

It begins at the meeting point of the Urbeltza and Urtxuria rivers (''black waters'' and ''white waters'' in Basque, respectively) in the

. From north, it has one French tributary, l' Iratiko. The river is then held up, shortly before Irabia, by a pond in the heart of the forest, Lake Irabia, built in 1921 with a tributary from the north, the river Urrio. After having fared through

Aezkoa Aezkoa Valley is an administrative unit of Navarre, Spain. It is formed by several smaller municipalities: Abaurregaina, Abaurrepea, Aria, Aribe (seat of the Valley administration), Garraioa, Garralda, Hiriberri (town), Orbaitzeta and Orbara. ...

and

Oroz-Betelu Oroz-Betelu is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto ...

, offering stunning landscapes, the Irati is held up again in the marais d'

Itoiz Itoiz was the name of a Basque music band from the coastal towns of Mutriku and Ondarroa, started off in 1978 and disbanded in 1988. Born in times of turmoil for the Basque Autonomous Community (Spain), Itoiz stems from a dancing music band (i.e. p ...

, already joined by the Urrobi and the

Erro Erro may refer to: * Erro, Navarre, a municipality in the autonomous community of Navarre, Spain * Erro (river), a river in north-west Italy * Erro (crater), a lunar crater named after the astronomer * "Meu Erro", a song on Os Paralamas do Sucesso ...

. It is then joined by the Areta and the to immediately enter the gorges of la ''Foz de

Lumbier Lumbier (''Irunberri'' in Basque language) is a village and municipality in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, in the north of Spain, 38 km from the capital of the community, Pamplona. It has a population of about 1400. It sta ...

''. Finally its path ends after {{convert, 88, km in the

Convenience

The wealth and conservation of its waters, with its bank vegetation and fish population makes it an important recreational fishing spot, albeit that it is declared as an area of common interest by the European regimentation. It is probably the most used river for hydro-electrical purposes, namely after the inauguration of Irati S.A enterprise (1911), which also gave its name to the electrical train from

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

. The Irabia dam was built at this time, enlarged more than five times to guaranty the river flow for the transportation of wood to the Ekai sawmill. Along the river, one can still find a lot of tubes, buckets, pipes, canals and plants which reflect the quality of these constructions. Rivers of Spain Rivers of Navarre