Lea-Artibai is an ''eskualdea/comarca'' of the province of

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. ...

(Bizkaia), in the Basque Country,

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") , ...

. Lea-Artibai is the heir of the historical ''

merindad ''Merindad'' () is a Mediaeval Spanish administrative term for a country subdivision smaller than a province but larger than a municipality. The officer in charge of a merindad was called a merino, roughly equivalent to the English ''count'' or ...

'' of Markina, which was one of the ''merindades'' of

. Currently, Lea-Artibai is one of the seven ''comarcas'' that compose the province. Its capital city is Markina-Xemein.

Geography

Lea-Artibai is located at the northeast extreme of the province. It limits with the ''comarcas'' of

Busturialdea Busturialdea, also named ''Busturialde - Urdaibai'' is a comarca of the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, Spain. It is the heir of "Busturia", one of the original ''merindades'' that used to compose the province of Biscay – this should ...

at west and Durangaldea at south, while the province of

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 de ...

is at the east. 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), ...

sits on the north. It occupies the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of the rivers Lea and Artibai.

Municipalities

Note: + created from part of Markina-Xemein in 2005.

Transport

Lea-Artibai is the only ''comarca'' of

that does not have a single kilometer of highway or railway. Its communications are deficient and depend on roads, like the BI-633 that connects

Ondarroa Ondarroa is a town and municipality located in the province of 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 ...

with

Durango Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in ...

or the BI-2405 which connects

with Lekeitio.

Economy

The economy of the municipalities of Lea-Artibai are based on the primary sector, while some industries, like one of

fish Fish are Aquatic animal, aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack Limb (anatomy), limbs with Digit (anatomy), digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous and bony fish as we ...

preservation Preservation may refer to: Heritage and conservation * Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible * ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...

exist too.

References

External links

*
Lea-Artibai's official web page
Comarcas of Biscay {{basqueCountry-geo-stub