Open ledger · AOD.EU.LA-GRAVIERE.V00 · ORIGINALClose ledger · AOD.EU.LA-GRAVIERE.V00
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Pyrenees Mtns , Spain
Pyrenees Mtns , Spain. This photograph is used as a geographic witness to the place, not as evidence of the historical date shown in the chapter.
- Visual description
- Pyrenees Mtns , Spain
- Nature
- original
- Medium
- Open-licence photograph
- Source
- Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
BEFORE MODERN SPORT
La Gravière
How work, access and surfing shaped La Gravière.
Scroll to follow the shoreline through time
Soorts-Hossegor is a commune in the French department of Landes, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France, 20 km (12 miles) north of Biarritz.
Sources for this chapter
1913
Work at the water’s edge
In 1913, the town associated the toponym of Hossegor, from the name of its marine lake, with its original name of Soorts.
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1923
The shore becomes reachable
In 1923, the seaside town was connected via railway for the first time, and the town became known as a seaside resort.
Sources for this chapter
Open ledger · AOD.EU.LA-GRAVIERE.V01 · ORIGINALClose ledger · AOD.EU.LA-GRAVIERE.V01
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Público y barrel en La Graviere
Beach pic at the Quiksilver Pro France surf competition at the La Graviere wave in Hossegor. This photograph is used as a geographic witness to the place, not as evidence of the historical date shown in the chapter.
- Visual description
- Beach pic at the Quiksilver Pro France surf competition at the La Graviere wave in Hossegor
- Nature
- original
- Medium
- Open-licence photograph
- Source
- Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
ORGANISED SPORT
Surfing reads the same coast differently
The town's economy is centred around the sport of surfing, and the local beach is a world famous surf break.
Sources for this chapter
THE LIVING MAP
The mapped place
La Gravière is recorded at 43.656° N, 1.442° W. A surf map fixes a name to one stretch of moving water, but the place changes with tide, swell direction, wind and the shape of the seabed.
Sources for this chapter
Open ledger · AOD.EU.LA-GRAVIERE.V00 · ORIGINALClose ledger · AOD.EU.LA-GRAVIERE.V00
Ledger AOD.EU.LA-GRAVIERE.V00
Pyrenees Mtns , Spain
Pyrenees Mtns , Spain. This photograph is used as a geographic witness to the place, not as evidence of the historical date shown in the chapter.
- Visual description
- Pyrenees Mtns , Spain
- Nature
- original
- Medium
- Open-licence photograph
- Source
- Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
TODAY
La Gravière now
A small industrial park was built, with the relocation of the headquarters of the European branch of the surf brand Rip Curl to the area in 1980, today followed by the HQ's for the surf companies Quiksilver, Billabong and Rusty.
Sources for this chapter
THE LEDGER
Sources and credits
This exhibition is built from local, institutional and sporting records. The source ledger keeps the claims visible and leaves space for correction as further local evidence emerges.
Sources for this chapter
Artefacts in order of appearance
Pyrenees Mtns , Spain
AOD.EU.LA-GRAVIERE.V00 · original · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Público y barrel en La Graviere
AOD.EU.LA-GRAVIERE.V01 · original · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Editorial record
Full European Beta edition. Place evidence is adapted from the linked Soorts-Hossegor overview under CC BY-SA 4.0 and remains subject to named historical and local review. Cartography is generated from the PeakWave location catalogue.