The Bay of Biscay, known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay, and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony, is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward to Cape Ortegal. The southern area of the Bay of Biscay that washes over the northern coast of Spain is known locally as the Cantabrian Sea.
Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the province of Biscay and in the Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the tenth largest city in Spain, with a population of more than 347,000 as of 2023. The Bilbao metropolitan area has 1,037,847 inhabitants, making it the most populous metropolitan area in northern Spain; with a population of 875,552, the comarca of Greater Bilbao is the fifth-largest urban area in Spain. Bilbao is also the main urban area in what is defined as the Greater Basque region.
Biscay 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.
Garai is an elizate, town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, Spain. Garai is part of the comarca of Durangaldea and has a population of 318 inhabitants as of 2009 according to the Spanish National Statistics Institute.
Gernikako Arbola is an oak tree that symbolizes traditional freedoms for the Biscayan people, and by extension for the Basque people as a whole. The Lords of Biscay swore to respect the Biscayan liberties under it, and the modern Lehendakari of the Basque Country swears his charge there.
Amorebieta-Etxano, also known as Zornotza, is a town and municipality located in Biscay in the Basque Country, an Autonomous Community in northern Spain.
Mutriku is a coastal town located in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country in northern Spain. It has a population of around 5000 and provides access to the Bay of Biscay. It is the site of the world's first multi-turbine breakwater wave power station, opened July 8, 2011. The Church of San Andrés can be found here, being one of the oldest churches in Gipuzkoa, dating to the year 1080.
Bakio is a municipality in the province of Biscay, Basque Country, Spain.
Bermeo is a town and municipality in the comarca of Busturialdea. It is in the province of Biscay, which is part of the autonomous region of the Basque Country in northern Spain.
Mundaka is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, in northern Spain. Mundaka is internationally renowned for the surfing community that takes advantage of its coast and unique oceanic conditions.
Mungia is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country of northern Spain. The town has 17,691 inhabitants (2019).
Santurtzi is a port town in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, Spain. It is located in the Bilbao Abra bay, near the mouth of the Nervión river, on its left bank, 14 km downriver from Bilbao and forms part of the Greater Bilbao agglomeration. It has a population of 45,853 (2019) and a land area of 6.77 km².
The Urdaibai estuary is a natural region and a Biosphere Reserve of Biscay, Basque Country, Spain. It is also referred as Mundaka or Gernika estuary.
Txakoli de Bizkaia – Bizkaiko Txakolina is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) for wines, located in the province of Bizkaia, Basque Country, Spain. The DOP includes vineyards from 82 different municipalities.
The physical geography of the Basque Country is very diverse despite the small size of the region. The territory hosts a blend of green and brown to yellowish tones, featuring hilly terrain altogether. The Basque Country spreads from the rough coastal landscape to the semi-desert of the Bardenas on the south-eastern fringes of Navarre.
Tourism in the Basque Autonomous Community has increased considerably in recent years, and is a popular destination for tourists from Spain and France. According to data from the Eustat the number of tourists entering the region in the year 2009 was 1,991,790, with the final result still pending. 71% of the yearly visitors come from the rest of Spain; the greatest number from Madrid Autonomous Community (14.2%), and Catalonia (11.1%). International visitors make up the remaining 29% - the largest percent come from France (7.2%). 62% of the people who come to the Basque Autonomous Community visit one of the three capitals, 27% visit inland and 11% visit the coast. The average stay of the visitors is 2 days.
The Basques were among the first people to catch whales commercially rather than purely for subsistence and dominated the trade for five centuries, spreading to the far corners of the North Atlantic and even reaching the South Atlantic. The French explorer Samuel de Champlain, when writing about Basque whaling in Terranova, described them as "the cleverest men at this fishing". By the early 17th century, other nations entered the trade in earnest, seeking the Basques as tutors, "for [they] were then the only people who understand whaling", lamented the English explorer Jonas Poole.
The Basque Auxiliary Navy was a section of the Spanish Republican Navy operating in the Bay of Biscay between 1936 and 1937. The naval force began their operations in October 1936 at the behest of the autonomous Basque Government. The main Basque Navy base was at Portugalete.
Mouro Island, originally Mogro Island, is a small uninhabited island in the Bay of Biscay, located off the Magdalena Peninsula. It lies close to the entrance to the Bay of Santander near the city of Santander, Cantabria along the north coast of Spain. The island is approximately 2 hectares (0.02km²) and lies about .75 km from the entrance to the harbor.
The hijacking of the Playa de Bakio was an incident that occurred between April 20 and 26, 2008. During those days the crew of the Spanish boat Playa de Bakio was held by pirates off the coast of Somalia.
