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 ...
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 ...
). Its summits form part of a long range that feeds several rivers:
Ibaizabal
The Ibaizabal (''wide river'' in Basque) is a river that drains southeastern Biscay to the Estuary of Bilbao. It is long from its source at Elorrio to the Nervión, and it passes by the towns of Durango and Amorebieta and joins the Nervión rive ...
Lea
Lea or LEA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Lea River, Tasmania, Australia
* Lake Lea, Tasmania, from which the Lea River flows
* RAAF Base Learmonth, IATA airport code "LEA"
England
* Lea, Cheshire, a civil parish
* Lea, Derbyshire, a set ...
,
Oka
Oka or OKA may refer to:
Cars
* Oka (automobile), a small car designed by AvtoVAZ and produced by ZMA and SeAZ
* OKA 4wd, a large 4-wheel-drive vehicle made in Western Australia by OKA
Military
* 2B1 Oka, Soviet 420 mm self-propelled mor ...
and
Deba
Deba may refer to:
Geography
* Deba (crater), a crater on Mars
* Deba (river), a river in the Basque Country
* Deba, Gipuzkoa, a town in the Basque Country
* Deba, Gombe, a town in the Yamaltu/Deba Local Government Area of Gombe State, Nigeria
...
in
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 ...
all of them running to 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), ...
.
Description
The mountain is clearly distinguished from its surroundings, mostly because of the large
antenna
Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to:
Science and engineering
* Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves
* Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...
and the
wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...
s on the top.
Its location in the middle of the province and its height provides great views from the summit, from the nearby sea to the surrounding mountains.
There are still patches of
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
s and
beeches
Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
on the mountain, but the higher zones are covered by huge pastures where
sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...
,
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...
s, and
cow
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...
s graze. There are wild
deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...
and
boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is no ...
s. Birds fly freely between Oiz and the nearby
Urkiola
Urkiola is a mountain range of the Basque mountains in Biscay near Durango, Spain, Durango, in the western Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, Spain. The highest mountain in the range is Anboto (1331 m). The range runs from we ...
natural park.
History and Legend
Oiz is one of the most important places of the history of Biscay and the Basque Country. During the
prehistory
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...
it was inhabited by
shepherd
A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...
s that left an important legacy of
megalithic
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea.
The ...
monuments. Later they moved to the valleys where they left the
necropolis
A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead".
The term usually im ...
of ''San Juan de Momoitio''.
Oiz is one of the "Hornblower Mountain from where the assembly of the Lord of Biscay, Lordship of Biscay was gathered in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. This gathering was done by lighting fires and blowing into
horn
Horn most often refers to:
*Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound
** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments
*Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...
s.
The legend says that also here Mari, "The Lady of
Anboto
Anboto () is a limestone mountain of the Western Basque Country, the highest peak of the Urkiola range and not far from the Urkiola mountain pass between Durango and Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Description
An immense mass of limestone, very compact an ...
", has a dwelling. Tradition says that every seven years Mari goes from
Anboto
Anboto () is a limestone mountain of the Western Basque Country, the highest peak of the Urkiola range and not far from the Urkiola mountain pass between Durango and Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Description
An immense mass of limestone, very compact an ...
to Oiz, and the
weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the ...
and the good or bad
crops
A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponics ...
depend on where she is.
On February 19, 1985,
Iberia Airlines Flight 610
Iberia Flight 610 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Madrid to Bilbao, Spain. On 19 February 1985, a Boeing 727-200 operating the flight crashed into a ravine after one of its wings sliced a television antenna on the summit of Mount Oi ...
from
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
hit the antenna and crashed into the north slopes of Oiz, causing the death of all passengers and crew, 148 people overall.
Hornblower mountains
Bocineros mountains are called (in Basque Deiadar-Mendiak) to five summits of Biscay, in the Basque Country (Spain) from which, using sound and light signals, were summoned to General Meetings of the Lordship of Biscay. These mountains, strategically scattered throughout the territory are:
*Kolitza of 879 meters in the region of Las Encartaciones.
*Ganekogorta of 998 meters above Bilbao.
*Gorbea of 1,481 meters above the Arratia-Nervión on the border with Álava.
*Oiz of 1,026 meters on the Durango, Lea Artibai and Urdaibai.
*Sollube of 686 meters above Bermeo Urdaibai and Txorierri.
From these peaks, visible from the whole territory, beeps with horns and trumpets made of other materials and bright with big bonfires, which were held up once had dawned, summoning the parents of the General Assembly of Vizcaya were made. This form of announcement would be made since the Middle Ages.
Ascent routes
From the road that winds the west side of the massif, where the Viewpoint Bizkaiko Talaia ( Balcony of Biscay) is located, conveniently track marked with signs marking the route to Oiz ( 1,029 m ) by Donesolo hill ( 550 m) ascend toward the pass Arreseburu ( 798 m ) where the chapel of San Cristobal is contact with the runway and the Oiz is made. Other notable hits from the north side are Ziortza (307 m ) or the port of Gontzegarai (360 m ) . In the latter case, a track leads to the pass and village Kortaguren ( 595 m ) . Going up the mountain directly from this point. On the eastern side the ascent is from the port of Trabakua (405 m ) by Zengotitagana hill (812 m ) to connect with the eastern hillock of Mount Oiz .
Access times
Durango ( 3h 30m ) by Sarrimendi .
Garai (3h ) for track Oiz .
Balcony of Vizcaya ( 1h 30m ) .
Pt . Trabakua ( 1h 30m ) .