Zumaia

Zumaia
Municipality
Zumaia
Flag Coat of arms
Zumaia Location Show map of the Basque Country Zumaia Zumaia (Spain) Show map of Spain
Coordinates: 43°17′50″N 2°15′25″W / 43.29722°N 2.25694°W / 43.29722; -2.25694
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Basque Country
Province	Gipuzkoa
Comarca	Urola Costa [es]
Founded	1347 (1347)
Government
• Mayor	Iñaki Ostolaza Esnal (EH Bildu)
Area
• Total	11.28 km2 (4.36 sq mi)
Population  (2018)[1]
• Total	10,044
Demonym	Basque: zumaiarra
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	20750
Area code	+34 (Spain) + 943 (Gipuzkoa)
Website	zumaia.eus

Zumaia ([s̻umaja], Spanish: Zumaya) is a small town in the north of Spain in the Basque Country.

The town has two beaches (Itzurun and Santiago), which are of interest to geologists because they are situated among the longest set of continuous rock strata in the world. These formations are termed flysch and they date from the mid-cretaceous period to the present, a time period of over 100 million years.^[2][3] The K–T boundary is present at the Itzurun beach, and fossils can be found, notably of ammonites. The strata stretches along a distance of about 8 km, between the beaches of Deba and Getaria, with Zumaia lying in the middle.

The town is also the home-turned-museum of the painter Ignacio Zuloaga. Exhibits include works by El Greco, Rivera, Zurbarán and Goya. Across the street there is a museum of craft and hand-crafted products of Laia. Within the city centre, the Basque-style Gothic church of San Pedro can be found. It has a temple with a magnificent reredos by Juan de Antxieta, the only work by this Basque sculptor found in Gipuzkoa.

Zumaia is located at the point where the Urola and Narrondo rivers come together. The origins of the town can be traced by its ancient monastery. In the Middle Ages, the people who lived in the Sehatz valley having to endure the continuous attacks of pirates and pillagers, fortified the city. The church today retains the relic of its defensive appearance.