1. Relief of the Basque Country
Mountains and landscapes
2. Relief units
There are three main
areas:
Pyrenees
Basque mountains
Ebro’s depression
3. Pyrenees
This mountain range
covers from the Table
of the Three Kings to
Larrun.
There are three
areas:
Northern
Axial
Southern
4. Pyrenees
Axial Pyrenees: It is formed
by the Paleozoic massifs of
Bortziriak, Larrun,
Urtzumendi, Aldude-Kinto,
Oroz-Betelu, Irati-
Mendibeltza and Iguntza’s
massif.
These mountains are not
very high but they are very
stepped and the activity of
rivers is very important on
them.
5. Pyrenees
South Pyrenees: Interior
mountains
It is the highest area,
with Orhi, Auñamendi.
There are covered by
limestone and they were
folded up during the
Alpine orogenesis.
Orhi 2017m
6. Pyrenees
South Pyrenees:
Interior depression
It goes from Irunberri
to Pamplona following
Araquil river basin.
Materials are tertiary
with sectors of flysch.
Rivers cut this
perpendicularly.
Araquil basin
7. Pyrenees
South Pyrenees:
Exterior mountains
The orography is
simple.
The mountains go
losing height and they
have several glaciers.
Leire range
8. Pyrenees
Northern Pyrenees
They go loosing
height progressively
Some valleys have
glacial origin
9. Basque Mountains
There are not as high
as the Pyrenees and
they have two
different directions so
that we can
distinguish two
sectors:
Northern
Southern
10. Northern Basque Mountains
It goes in parallel to
the coast.
The traditional
modeling is karsts in
the area of Gorbea
and Aralar.
It presents different
sectors
11. Northern Basque Mountains
Coastal tertiary
mountain range
From the East of
Guipuzcoa to Getaria.
The most important
part is the monoclinal
close to the coast in
which the most
important relief is
Jaizkibel-Ulia.
12. Northern Basque Mountains
Coastal anticlinoria
From Bortziei to
Matxitxako.
In this area are Ernio,
Izarraitz, Arno,
Illuntzar and Sollube.
The dominant rock is
limestone and the
modeling of karsts.
13. Northern Basque Mountains
Biscay’s sinclinoria
It goes from Punta Galea
to Bortzirieta and Aldudes-
Kinto.
The mountains of the
region are Unbe, Bizkargi,
Oiz, Urko, Elosua and
Murumendi.
There are sandstones,
flysch and basalt.
Some forms are rounded,
mainly in the narrow
courses of rivers.
14. Northern Basque Mountains
Biscay’s anticlinoria
From Bortzirieta to
Ordunte, with the
mountains: Aralar, Aizkorri,
Anboto, Gorbea and
Ganekogorta.
It is a section with constant
changes of height and
medium height.
The main materials are
limestone and the relief is
monoclinal.
15. Southern Basque mountains
They are located in
the Mediterranean
slope and their
structure belongs to a
big sinclinal.
It is common to find in
this region hanging
sinclinals and
monoclinals.
16. Southern Basque mountains
Alava’s plain
It is the elongation of
the depression of the
Pyrenees.
It is a sinclinoria and
relieves are deep.
17. Southern Basque mountains
Western mountain
ranges
They close the plain
from the West and are
formed by limestone
with monoclinal
structure.
Arkamo, Salvada eta
Gibixo are in this
section in which the
highest mountain is
Eskutxi.
18. Southern Basque mountains
Central mountain
ranges
They expand between
Alava and Navarre:
Andia, Urbasa, Entzia,
Iturrieta and
Mountains of Gasteiz.
19. Southern Basque mountains
Southern mountain
ranges
Toloño mountain
range separates
Treviño from Alavan
Rioja.
The relief is complex,
with several crests.
20. Ebro’s depression
It is the area crossed
by Ebro River and it is
a sedimentary basin.
The sector in central
Navarre was the limit
of an ancient tertiary
lake and it has a
slopped relief with
crests.
21. Ebro’s depression
The most amazing
area is that of
Bardenas because
due to the presence
of material that
answers to erosion in
different ways results
in a landscape in with
there are different
levels.
