Órbigo

The Órbigo River is a river in the provinces of León and Zamora, Spain. It begins at the convergence of the Luna River and the Omaña River in the village of Secarejo, in the Cimanes del Tejar municipality. Decades ago, that confluence was some km. before, in the town of Santiago del Molinillo. It flows from north to south through the province of León and ultimately flows into the Esla River below Benavente.

Órbigo Latin: Urbicus
The union of the rivers Luna and Omaña at this point form the Órbigo river
Location
Country	Spain
Physical characteristics
Source	Union of the rivers Luna and Omaña
• location	Secarejo, Cimanes del Tejar, Ribera del Órbigo, León, Castile and León, Spain
• elevation	902 m (2,959 ft)
Mouth	Esla river
• location	Santa Colomba de las Monjas, Benavente y Valles, Zamora, Castile and León, Spain
• elevation	702 m (2,303 ft)
Length	162 km (101 mi)
Basin size	4,995 km2 (1,929 sq mi)
Discharge
• location	mouth
• average	38.81 m3/s (1,371 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
• right	Duerna, Tuerto, Jamuz and Eria

How the river came to have this name is not known. According to the linguist E. Bascuas, the toponym Órbigo, would come from a Paleo-European hydronymic theme *urw-, derived from the Indo-European root *er- 'flow, move', with a hydronymic meaning. The first mention is from Hydatius "Ad fluvium nomine Urbicum".^[1] The name could also have Basque roots, from the words "Ur" (water) and "Bi" (two). There exists a theory that the river now called the Luna should be the real start of the Órbigo. Although it was the same river, in the times of the Conde Luna, it was ordered to change that name of the river so that the part in the county would have its name.

Tributaries

• Duerna
• Tuerto
• Jamuz
• Eria
• Special tributary: Presa Cerrajera, which splits from the Órbigo and later flows into it again

Gallery

• 
  In 1433 on this spot—the bridge over the river Órbigo—Suero de Quiñones and ten of his knights challenged all comers to a Pas d'Armes, promising to "break 300 lances" before moving on.
• 
  Medieval bridge over the Órbigo River in Hospital de Órbigo, León.
• 
  Órbigo river watershed.
• 
  Another view of the union of the Luna and Omaña rivers, forming the Órbigo.

See also

• List of rivers of Spain