# Leitzaran

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Leitzaran
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Leitzaran.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leitzaran
> Source revision: 1322838807
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

The **Leitzaran** (leiˈts̻aɾan, or **Leizarán** in Spanish) is a river and a valley in the [Navarre](/source/Navarre) and the [Basque Country](/source/Basque_Country_(autonomous_community)) ([Spain](/source/Spain)). It flows into the river [Oria](/source/Oria_(river)) from its right.[1]

Its source is in the [Leitza](/source/Leitza) municipality in [Navarre](/source/Navarre), and it is 42 kilometres (26 mi) long. It enters into [Gipuzkoa](/source/Gipuzkoa) in a place called Urto. It takes water from the municipalities of [Areso](/source/Areso), [Berastegi](/source/Berastegi), [Elduain](/source/Elduain), [Villabona](/source/Villabona), [Urnieta](/source/Urnieta) and [Andoain](/source/Andoain) and has an area of 124.02 square kilometres (47.88 sq mi), of which 69.72 square kilometres (26.92 sq mi) belongs to Gipuzkoa.[1]

## Valle de Leizaran

The [Gipuzkoan](/source/Gipuzkoa) part of its basin is known as "Valle de Leizaran" (Leitzaran Valley, while "Leitzaran" means 'the [Leitza](/source/Leitza) valley' in Basque), and it mostly shapes up in the "Macizo de Cinco Villas", formed by materials formed in the [Paleozoic](/source/Paleozoic) (concretely in the [Carboniferous](/source/Carboniferous)), mostly slate and sandstone, fold during the [Hercynian orogeny](/source/Hercynian_orogeny). The Leitzaran is very crooked and shows several meanders.

The gipuscoan Leitzaran is bounded in the east by the river [Urumea](/source/Urumea)’s valley, divided by the [Adarra](/source/Adarra)-[Mandoegi](/source/Mandoegi) mountain chain. Altzadi in this chain treads into the valley and separates the gipuscoan and the navarre Leitzaran. The dividing line in the west starts in Arizmendi and joins the Uzturre-Ipuliño chain later, in Belabieta. This mountains separates the valley from Zelai and Elduain, as well as the small valleys in the area of Amasa-Villabona.

## Protected biotope

The shorelines of the Leitzaran and those of its tributaries Ubaran (Ubane) and Malo were declared Protected [Biotopes](/source/Biotope) on 29 September 1995. They have a total area of 0.74 square kilometres (0.29 sq mi). Despite its apparently dehumanised appearance, the trace of man is strong. There are plenty of prehistoric monuments (especially in its borders) and grazing has been long-practised (as shown by the "seles" presence).

## Industry

The most significant industry was the [blast furnaces](/source/Blast_furnaces) and the river was very useful to them. Minerals came from the valley itself, but there were also some imported from Somorrostro. The river's waters have powered flour [watermills](/source/Watermill) and small [hydroelectric](/source/Hydroelectric) power stations as well, some of them still functioning.

### Bizkotx mines and railway

In order to carry the minerals from the Bizkotx mines a railway was built from the mines (located near the place known as Plazaola) to [Andoain](/source/Andoain). Afterwards, its two ends were lengthened to [Pamplona](/source/Pamplona) and to [Lasarte](/source/Lasarte), a place where it joined up to the [Ferrocarriles Vascongados](/source/EuskoTren) (Basque Railways), where it could provide services to Donostia ([San Sebastián](/source/San_Sebasti%C3%A1n)). This railway (Pamplona - San Sebastián or PSS) was popularly called "Tren del Plazaola" (Plazaola's Train in Spanish) and "Tren-txiki" (Little Train in Basque).

## Greenway

A big part of the Plazaola railway's course is being recovered for leisure as a [greenway](/source/Greenway_(landscape)).

## See also

- [List of rivers of Spain](/source/List_of_rivers_of_Spain)

## References

1. Cabezón, Xabier. ["General Description"](https://www.leitzaran.net/descripcion.html). *LEITZARAN*. leitzaran.net. Retrieved 12 July 2015.

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Leitzaran](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leitzaran) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leitzaran?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.