The Saison () or Uhaitz Handia, is a left tributary of the
Gave d'Oloron
The Gave d'Oloron is a river of south-western France near the border with Spain. It takes its name from the city Oloron-Sainte-Marie, where it is formed from the rivers Gave d'Aspe and Gave d'Ossau. It joins the Gave de Pau in Peyrehorade to fo ...
river in the
French Basque Country
The French Basque Country, or Northern Basque Country ( eu, Iparralde (), french: Pays basque, es, País Vasco francés) is a region lying on the west of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Since 1 January 2017, it constitu ...
, (
Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; eu, Pirinio Atlantiarrak or ) is a department in the southwest corner of France and of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Pyrenees mountain range and the Atlant ...
), Southwest of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. Its general south to north direction provides the axis for the former French province of
Soule
Soule (Basque: Zuberoa; Zuberoan/ Soule Basque: Xiberoa or Xiberua; Occitan: ''Sola'') is a former viscounty and French province and part of the present-day Pyrénées-Atlantiques ''département''. It is divided into two cantons of the arrond ...
. It is also known as the Gave de Mauléon. It is long, including its upper courses Zurkaitzegiko erreka and
Gave de Larrau
The Gave de Larrau is a torrential river of the French Basque Country (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), in the southwest of France. It is the left tributary of the river Saison, and considered its upper course by Sandre. Its name is due to the village of ...
Gave de Larrau
The Gave de Larrau is a torrential river of the French Basque Country (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), in the southwest of France. It is the left tributary of the river Saison, and considered its upper course by Sandre. Its name is due to the village of ...
(from the Pic d'Orhy).
It flows north and joins the Gave d'Oloron in
Autevielle-Saint-Martin-Bideren
Autevielle-Saint-Martin-Bideren (; oc, Autivièla, Sent Martin e Vidèren; eu, Autile) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France.
Geography
Autevielle-Saint-Martin-Bideren i ...
, downstream from
Sauveterre-de-Béarn
Sauveterre-de-Béarn (, literally ''Sauveterre of Béarn''; oc, Sauvatèrra; eu, Salbaterra Bearno) is a medieval village perched above the Gave d'Oloron and facing the Pyrenees in south-western France. It is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atl ...
.
Départements and towns
The Saison flows completely within the
Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; eu, Pirinio Atlantiarrak or ) is a department in the southwest corner of France and of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Pyrenees mountain range and the Atlant ...
Mauléon-Licharre
Mauléon-Licharre (; , Occitan: Maulion e Lisharra), or simply Mauléon, is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in southwestern France.
It is the capital of the Soule (''Zuberoa'') historical Basque province.
It is home to t ...
.
Name
The
vernacular
A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
name ''Uhaitz handia'' (or simply ''Uhaitza'') is based on the common word ''uhaitz'' meaning "torrential river" in Euskara. It corresponds to the French word ''
gave
GAVE may refer to:
* Gave (Melgaço), a parish in Portugal
* Gave (placename element), a French word meaning ''torrential river'' in the west Pyrenees
* Gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE), a medical condition
* Gabinete de Avaliação Educacio ...
''. ''-a'' is the article and ''handi'' means ''big''.
The enigmatic gascon name ''Saison'' could be a contraction ''season'' with the former name ''Gaison'', itself derived from the variant ''ugaitz'' of ''uhaitz''.
Tributary names are also linguistically interesting, with two specific stems:
* Aphanize: name of tributaries from Montory (''Aphanize'') and from Haux (''Aphanixe'').
* Aphahura: leading to the following names: ''Aphaura'' (from Aroue and from Arrast,also graphied ''Aphanire'' following Paul Raymond, ''Dictionnaire topographique du département des Basses-Pyrénées'', 1863. ''Aphura'' (from Alçay), ''Aphuhura'' (from
Aussurucq
Aussurucq (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France.
The inhabitants are known as ''Altzürükütar''.
).
The stem ''gezal'', a derivate of basque ''gazi'' 'salty', applied to 'still water', is also represented.