Gave De Mauleon
Geography
The river is formed in Licq-Athérey from the confluence of the Gave de Sainte-Engrâce (from the Pierre-Saint-Martin Cave) and the Gave de Larrau (from the Pic d'Orhy).
It flows north and joins the Gave d'Oloron in Autevielle-Saint-Martin-Bideren, downstream from Sauveterre-de-Béarn.
Départements and towns
The Saison flows completely within the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department. The riverside towns are Tardets-Sorholus and Mauléon-Licharre.
Name
The vernacular 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. -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, Aphura (from Alçay), Aphuhura (from Aussurucq).
The stem gezal, a derivate of basque gazi 'salty', applied to 'still water', is also represented.
Main tributaries
- (R) Aphanixe (Appaniche), from Haux
- (L) Elgabarrena or Üthürrotxa, from Etchebar
- (R) Aphanize, from Montory
- (L) Aphura or Aphoura, from Alçay
- (L) Gezala / Guéçala, from Camou-Cihigue
- (L) Aphuhura (Aphouhoura) or Gezaleko erreka / Guéçalia, from Aussurucq
- (L) Arangorena, from Ordiarp
- (L) Abarrakia, from Musculdy
- (R) Aphaura, from Arrast-Larrebieu,
- (L) Barlako erreka or Aphaura, from Aroue,
- (L) Héourqué, from Lohitzun-Oyhercq
- (L) Xuhukoa, from Domezain
References
- ^ Gaison on the 18th century map by Cassini; Sazon in 1548.
- ^ Uhaits handia on the map of Cassini
- ^ Sandre. "Fiche cours d'eau - Le Saison (Q7--0250)".
- ^ x [X] is a softened allomorph of the phoneme z (laminal [s] as the French ss).
- ^ also graphied Aphanire following Paul Raymond, Dictionnaire topographique du département des Basses-Pyrénées, 1863.
- ^ Aphanize, Aphanice
- ^ L'Apaure, la Phaure…
- ^ La Phaure, Lafaure…