Bay of Biscay

The Bay of Biscay /ˈbɪskeɪ, -ki/ (Spanish: Golfo de Vizcaya, French: Golfe de Gascogne) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal.

The average depth is 1,744 metres (5,722 ft) and the greatest depth is 4,735 metres (15,535 ft).

Name

The Bay of Biscay is named (for English speakers) after Biscay on the northern Spanish coast, probably standing for the western Basque districts (Biscay up to the early 19th century). Its name in other languages is:

Geography

Parts of the continental shelf extend far into the bay, resulting in fairly shallow waters in many areas and thus the rough seas for which the region is known. The Bay of Biscay is home to some of the Atlantic Ocean's fiercest weather. Large storms occur in the bay, especially during the winter months. Up until recent years it was a regular occurrence for merchant vessels to founder in Biscay storms.

Biscay

Biscay (in Basque and officially Bizkaia and in Spanish Vizcaya) is a province of Spain located just south of the Bay of Biscay. The name also refers to a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay. Its capital city is Bilbao. It is one of the most prosperous and important provinces of Spain as a result of the massive industrialization in the last years of the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. Since the deep deindustrialization of the 1970s, the economy has come to rely more on the services sector.

Etymology

It is accepted in linguistics (Koldo Mitxelena, etc.) that Bizkaia is a cognate of bizkar (cf. Biscarrosse in Aquitaine), with both place-name variants well attested in the whole Basque Country and out meaning 'low ridge' or 'prominence' (Iheldo bizchaya attested in 1141 for the Monte Igueldo in San Sebastián).

Denominations

Bizkaia

“Bizkaia” is the Basque denomination recommended by the Royal Academy of the Basque language, and it is commonly used on official documents on that language. It is also used on documents in Spanish, and it is the most used denomination by the media in Spanish in the Basque Country. It is also the denomination used in the Basque version of the Spanish constitution and in the Basque version of the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country.