The Nivelle (; widest accepted
Basque forms: ''Ugarana'' or ''Urdazuri'') is a long river French department of the
Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; eu, Pirinio Atlantiarrak or ) is a department in the southwest corner of France and of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Pyrenees mountain range and the Atlant ...
(
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
)
flowing largely south-east to north-west, with only 7 km of its length being considered navigable. The river results from the union of various streams in
Urdazubi (
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, ...
), going on to cross the Spanish-French border at
Dantxarinea after meandering across
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, ...
se soil. The river pours into the
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...
on the bay of
Saint-Jean-de-Luz (
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
for Donibane Lohizune) after cutting its way between this town and
Ciboure (
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
for Ziburu) on its final stage. At this point, celebrated Basque French composer and arranger
Maurice Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...
was born in one of the front houses overlooking the channel.
Variety of Basque names
For all its shortness, the river takes on several names in
Basque language at different stretches of the course, e.g. ''Sarrakaria'', ''Urma'', ''Uhertsi'' (spelled sometimes ''Ur Ertsi''), besides the above ''Ugarana'' and ''Urdazuri''. This conspicuous diversity reflects the historic situation of the native language, deprived of official recognition whatsoever or transmission through formal schooling up to recent times (and still). Locals, when asked for the name of the river in Basque, often may answer ''U(r)handi'', meaning "big water", a descriptive naming that has sometimes applied to the neighbouring and main river of
Labourd
Labourd ( eu, Lapurdi; la, Lapurdum; Gascon: ''Labord'') is a former French province and part of the present-day Pyrénées Atlantiques ''département''. It is one of the traditional Basque provinces, and identified as one of the territorial c ...
the
Errobi/Nive.
Troubled waters
The geographical situation of the basin makes its climate mild (average temperature 14 °C) under the influence of humid air masses blowing from the sea. Yet the clash between these air currents and the Pyrenean region spurs sudden showers frequently (average annual rainfall on the watershed 2,000 mm). On May 4, 2007, like in 1983, the banks of the river go through dire consequences on account of floods (170 mm pour down in 24 hours at
Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle
Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle (, literally ''Saint-Pée on Nivelle''; eu, Senpere)[SENPERE]
Urdazubi/Urdax. Echoing a long-running claim of the inhabitants, the dam Lurberria was built in 2008 to contain swollen waters.
Fishing and river fauna
Brown trout
The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morp ...
is well entrenched in the river, especially in its upstream tributaries (more than 90 brooks). In contrast,
salmon
Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus '' Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Onco ...
,
trout
Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...
and