Baix Empordà (Catalan pronunciation:[ˈbaʒ əmpurˈða], "Lower Empordà") is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain, one of the two into which Empordà was divided in the comarcal division of 1936, the other one being Alt Empordà. It is popularly known as L'Empordanet ("the Little Empordà").
Geography
Baix Empordà is the southern portion of the historical region of Empordà. It includes the municipalities between the Montgrí Massif, just north of the river Ter, and the Aro valley, in the south. It totals 37 municipalities, with a total area of 700,5 km2. It borders Alt Empordà to the north, Gironès and Selva to the west and the Mediterranean Sea to the east.
The inhabitants of the commune are known as Baixois or Baixoises.
Geography
Baix is located some 30km south by south-west of Valence and 25km north-east of Aubenas. Access to the commune is by the D86 road from Le Pouzin in the north which passes through the commune and the town and continues south to Cruas. The D22 branches off the D86 just inside the northern border of the commune and goes west to Chomérac. The commune is mostly forested but with farmland in the north-western third of the commune.
The Rhône river forms the eastern border of the commune and the department as it flows south however there is no crossing point in the commune. The nearest crossing point is at Le Pouzin 5km north. Numerous streams rise in the commune and flow east to the Rhone including La Payre, the Ravin de Roux, the Ravin de Saint-Pierre, the Ruisseau de Notre-Dame, the Ravin de Besset, the Ruisseau de Cournairet, the Ruisseau de Sainte-Euphémie, with the Ruisseau de Sichier forming the southern border of the commune.
The city of Figueres, an important urban and economic center of the Empordà, was designated the capital of Alt Empordà, while La Bisbal d'Empordà, following a more geographic and historical criteria, became the capital of Baix Empordà.
Empordà has been the cradle for many pictoric schools, with surrealism being an outstanding one, and artist such as Salvador Dalí, Angel Planells, Joan Massanet and Evarist Vallès.
Etymology
The name Empordà is a derivative of Empúries (Empòrion in Old Greek or Emporiae in Latin), which means "the markets".
The name Empordà comes from a succession of phonetic derivatives of County of Empúries, a county which had its capital first in Sant Martí d'Empúries and then in Castelló d'Empúries the capital of medieval Empordà during the period of political splendor of this county. This was one of the most insurgent towards the royal power and one of the lasts to join the Crown of Aragon, and that led to a few curious episodes like the deviation of the Ter (river) or the unfinished build of the Montgrí Castle on top of the Montgrí Massif.
The DO is crossed by the rivers Muga, Llobregat and Manol which flow eastwards to the sea.
The DO Empordà comprises 2020 hectares of vineyards in the counties of Alt Empordà and Baix Empordà, with 423 winegrowers and 45 wineries registered with the Regulatory Council, and an estimated annual production of approximately 50,000 hectolitres or 3.5 million bottles of wine.
History
Archaeologists have suggested that vines were first introduced to this region by the Phoenicians in the 5th century BC. The ancient Romans and the Benedictine monks later also contributed. The first written documentation dates from 1130 and was a treatise on wine written by Father Pere de Novas in the Monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes.
The nearby Alt Empordà and Baix Empordà areas of Catalonia’s coastline have been placed under orange alert because of the possibility of further flooding, with some areas experiencing more than 100...
As every year, 'Caganer.com', a BaixEmpordà company specializing in caganers, has unveiled the latest additions to its collection of famous personalities ...
Caganer.com, a company in the BaixEmpordà county, which specializes in hand-made caganer figurines, a pooping nativity scene figure that is a CatalanChristmas tradition, made its first Lamine Yamal ...
Catalonia's problem ... The regions with the most beaches affected by the retreat have been Baix and Alt Empordà, with 70%, while most of those in the metropolitan area of Barcelona have extended their stretch of coastline ... .
The eight-meter-long boat will also support Barcelona's America's Cup, which will start in August. The Zephyr 800 Ecop has been built in the Catalan town of Forallac, located in the inland BaixEmpordà county, and is powered by two 400 kg batteries ... .
The regions with the most beaches affected by the retreat have been Baix and Alt Empordà, with 70%, while most of those in the metropolitan area of Barcelona have extended their stretch of coastline ... Last decade.
...Brava that followed the Atenció Coralls! protocols to assess the impact of heat waves on more than 10,000 gorgonians—95 censuses in sixteen towns—in Cap de Creus and in Espai Natura 2000BaixEmpordà.
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