Durangaldea

Durangaldea
comarca
Kintra	Spain
Autonomous commonty	Basque Kintra
Province	Biscay
Caipital	Durango

Durangaldea (Spaingie: Duranguesado) is a comarca o Biscay locatit in the Basque Kintra, Spain. It is ane o the seiven comarcas or regions that compone the province o Biscay. The caipital ceety o Durangaldea is Durango.

Geografie

Oiz muntain.

Durangaldea is locatit at the sootheast o the province o Biscay, limitin wi the provinces o Gipuzkoa an Álava. It spans the territory atween Oiz muntain an the border wi the province o Álava in the sooth. Its total extension is 240,13 km².

Maist o the touns that compone the comarca are locatit on a great valley shapit bi the Ibaizabal river, that crosses it frae east tae wast. Otxandio is the anerly toun that belangs tae Durangaldea but is no pairt o the valley.

History

Durangaldea (kent bi its Spainyie name, Duranguesado an aw) wis durin the Middle Ages a destrict apairt frae Biscay (the Señorío) an a dependency o Navarre, but wis conquered bi Castile in 1200. It remained separate frae Biscay till 1630, an it held its awn compilation o laws, wi its regional cooncil jynin in Gerediaga, Abadiño. Its lairds foondit fower chairtered touns, namely Ermua, Elorrio, Durango, an Otxandio.

Municipalities

Matiena, pairt o Abadiño.

Durangaldea is dividit intae twal municipalities, bein Durango the caipital ceety. The municipalities that compone the comarca are the same anes that made the merindad o Durango, the previous admeenistrative diveesion. Ermua an Mallabia belang tae the province o Biscay, but are no pairt o Durangaldea, bein pairt o ither comarca, which is pairt o Gipuzkoa.

#	Municipality	Population	Territory km²
	Abadiño	7.260	36,06
	Amorebieta-Etxano	19.546	58,46
	Atxondo	1.447	23,21
	Berriz	4.759	30,07
	Durango	28.229	10,91
	Elorrio	7.116	37,32
	Garai	318	7,12
	Iurreta	3.901	18,84
	Izurtza	270	4,28
	Mañaria	459	17,73
	Otxandio	1.260	12,43
	Zaldibar	2.876	11,84

Economy

The economy o Durangaldea is mainly industrial, awthou the primar sector is important an aw.

Primar sector

It is the seicont maist important sector o the economy in the region efter the industry. The ainimal husbandry is specially important, as well as the firth production. The minery is a important section o the economy an aw, currently bein producit limestane an marble. Mines o airn, lead an copper hae been exploitit an aw.

Seicondar sector

The siderurgy haes been ane o the maist developit teep o industries in Durangaldea. Besides it, ither industries like paper producers or tuil producers exist an aw.

Transportation

Durangaldea is connectit tae the three Basque provinces bi roads, Álava in the sooth bi the BI-623 and Bilbao an Donostia bi the road N-634. The Cantabric Heich-gate crosses the comarca an aw, an can be accessed frae Durango an connecs the ceety wi Bilbao, Donostia an the French border.

EuskoTren operates in the region an aw, afferin commuter rail services. The train line connects wi Bilbao an ither comarcas o the province an wi Gipuzkoa an aw. EuskoTren haes train stations in Abadiño, Amorebieta-Etxano, Berriz, Durango an Zaldibar. The bus company BizkaiBus operates in the region an aw, connectin aw the municipalities wi ithers on different comarcas.

See an aw

• Laird o Biscay
• Durango, Biscay
• Comarcas o Spain