The Órbigo River is a river in the provinces of
León and
Zamora,
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. It begins at the convergence of the
Luna River
The Lonea (also: ''Luna'') is a left tributary of the river Someșul Mic in Romania. It discharges into the Someșul Mic in Iclod, Fundătura.Omaña River
Omaña River is a river with located in the northwest of Spain, in the province of León. It is formed as a stream at the Spring (hydrology), water spring from the eastern slope of Tambarón Peak, in the village of Montrondo, which falls within the ...
in the village of
Secarejo, in the
Cimanes del Tejar municipality. Decades ago, that confluence was some km. before, in the town of
Santiago del Molinillo. It flows from north to south through the province of León and ultimately flows into the
Esla River
The Esla is a river in the provinces of León and Zamora in the northwest of Spain. It is a tributary of the Duero River that starts in the Cantabrian Mountains and is long. Its direction of flow is from north to south. It is the largest tri ...
below
Benavente.
How the river came to have this name is not known. According to the linguist
E. Bascuas, the toponym Órbigo, would come from a
Paleo-European hydronymic theme *urw-, derived from the
Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...
root *er- 'flow, move', with a hydronymic meaning. The first mention is from
Hydatius
Hydatius, also spelled Idacius () was a late Western Roman writer and clergyman. The bishop of Aquae Flaviae in the Roman province of Gallaecia (almost certainly the modern Chaves, Portugal, in the modern district of Vila Real), he was the author o ...
"Ad fluvium nomine Urbicum".
[Edelmiro Bascuas, '' Hidronimia y léxico de origen paleoeuropeo en Galicia'' (pág. 114)] The name could also have Basque roots, from the words "Ur" (water) and "Bi" (two). There exists a theory that the river now called the Luna should be the real start of the Órbigo. Although it was the same river, in the times of the Conde Luna, it was ordered to change that name of the river so that the part in the county would have its name.
Tributaries
*
Duerna
*
Tuerto
*
Jamuz
*
Eria
''Eria'' is a genus of orchids with more than 50 species distributed in China, the Himalayas, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.
Species
''Eria'' species accepted by Plants of the World On ...
*Special tributary:
Presa Cerrajera, which splits from the Órbigo and later flows into it again
Gallery
File:Orbigo Bridge.jpg, In 1433 on this spot—the bridge over the river Órbigo—Suero de Quiñones
Suero de Quiñones (c. 1409 – 11 July 1456), called ("he of the pass"), was a Leonese knight, nobleman, and author in the Kingdom of León (then part of the Crown of Castile). He gained fame for his ''Paso Honroso'', a '' pas d'armes'' (pa ...
and ten of his knights challenged all comers to a Pas d'Armes
The () or passage of arms was a type of chivalric hastilude (martial game) that evolved in the late 14th century and remained popular through the 15th century. It involved a knight or group of knights (' or "holders") who would stake out a trave ...
, promising to "break 300 lances" before moving on.
File:Puente del Paso Honroso en Hospital de Orbigo.jpg, Medieval bridge over the Órbigo River in Hospital de Órbigo, León.
File:Rio Orbigo.JPG, Órbigo river watershed.
File:Nacimiento del Rio Orbigo.JPG, Another view of the union of the Luna and Omaña rivers, forming the Órbigo.
See also
*
List of rivers of Spain
This is an incomplete list of rivers that are at least partially in Spain. The rivers flowing into the sea are sorted along the coast. Rivers flowing into other rivers are listed by the rivers they flow into. Rivers in the mainland Iberian Peninsu ...
References
Rivers of Spain
Rivers of León, Spain
Rivers of Castile and León
Tributaries of the Esla
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