The Leitzaran (, or Leizarán in Spanish) is a river and a valley in the Navarre and 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 flows into the river Oria from its right. Its source is in the

Leitza Leitza ( es, Leiza; eu, Leitza) is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain. Notable people *Mikel Nieve (born 26 May 1984), professional road cyclist *Aimar Sagastibelza Aimar Sag ...

municipality in Navarre, and it is long. It enters into

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...

in a place called Urto. It takes water from the municipalities of

Areso Areso 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 ...

, Berastegi, Elduain, Villabona,

Urnieta Urnieta is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, northern Spain. References External links Official WebsiteInformation available in Spanish and Basque. URNIETA in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa ...

and Andoain and has an area of , of which belongs to Gipuzkoa.

Valle de Leizaran

The

n part of its basin is known as "Valle de Leizaran" (Leitzaran Valley, while the very name Leitzaran means 'the

valley' in Basque), and it mostly shapes up in the "Macizo de Cinco Villas", formed by materials formed in the

Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...

(concretely in the Carboniferous), mostly slate and sandstone, fold during the

Hercynian orogeny The Variscan or Hercynian orogeny was a geologic mountain-building event caused by Late Paleozoic continental collision between Euramerica (Laurussia) and Gondwana to form the supercontinent of Pangaea. Nomenclature The name ''Variscan'', comes f ...

. The Leitzaran is very crooked and shows several meanders. The gipuscoan Leitzaran is bounded in the east by the river

Urumea The Urumea ( or , stemming from Basque "ur" 'water' + "me(he)a" 'thin') is a river in the Basque Country at the north of the Iberian Peninsula. It's one of a series of Basque rivers flowing into the Bay of Biscay (Atlantic basin) and is best kno ...

’s valley, divided by the

Adarra Adarra (short for "Adarramendi", meaning 'mount of horns' in Basque) is a mountain south of the city of San Sebastian in the Basque Country. It is a popular peak with the local residents. The mountain is flanked on the north by the minor summits ...

- Mandoegi mountain chain. Altzadi in this chain treads into the valley and separates the gipuscoan and the navarre Leitzaran. The dividing line in the west starts in Arizmendi and joins the Uzturre-Ipuliño chain later, in Belabieta. This mountains separates the valley from Zelai and Elduain, as well as the small valleys in the area of Amasa-Villabona.

Protected biotope

The shorelines of the Leitzaran and those of its tributaries Ubaran (Ubane) and Malo were declared Protected Biotopes on 29 September 1995. They have a total area of . Despite its apparently dehumanised appearance, the trace of man is strong. There are plenty of prehistoric monuments (especially in its borders) and grazing has been long-practised (as shown by the "seles" presence).

Industry

The most significant industry was the blast furnaces and the river was very useful to them. Minerals came from the valley itself, but there were also some imported from Somorrostro. The river's waters have powered flour

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

s and small hydroelectric power stations as well, some of them still functioning.

Bizkotx mines and railway

In order to carry the minerals from the Bizkotx mines a railway was built from the mines (located near the place known as Plazaola) to Andoain. Afterwards, its two ends were lengthened to

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 ...

and to Lasarte, a place where it joined up to the Ferrocarriles Vascongados (Basque Railways), where it could provide services to Donostia ( San Sebastián). This railway (Pamplona - San Sebastián or PSS) was popularly called "Tren del Plazaola" (Plazaola's Train in Spanish) and "Tren-txiki" (Little Train in Basque).

Greenway

A big part of the Plazaola railway's course is being recovered for leisure as a greenway.

References