Ebro (Lat. Hibêrus), a river of Spain, rising at an altitude of 2778 feet, in the province of Santander, within 20 miles of the Bay of Biscay. Thence it flows 442 miles south-eastward past Frias, Miranda, Haro, Logroño, Tudela, Zaragoza, Mequinenza, Mora, and Tortosa, till it falls into the Mediterranean. Its basin comprises 38,580 sq. miles. The mouth is choked up with sand, but a canal called the San Carlos has been carried through the delta. Affluents are the Najerilla, Jiloca, and Guadalope from the right, and the Aragon, Gallego, and Segre from the left. The Ebro runs chiefly through narrow and sometimes rocky valleys, and its course is obstructed by many shoals and rapids. This is partly remedied, however, by Charles V.'s Imperial Canal, which extends from Tudela to 40 miles below Zaragoza.
Écarté, a game played with thirty-two cards (all cards from the two to the six being removed from the pack). It is played by two persons. The player cutting the lowest écarté card deals. King is highest, then queen, knave, ace, ten, nine, eight, seven. The dealer gives five cards to each player, by three at a time and by two at a time, or vice versa, and turns up the eleventh card for trumps. If the turn-up card is a king, the dealer marks one; if the king of trumps is in either hand, the holder marks one. If the non-dealer is not satisfied with his hand, he may propose to discard. The dealer may either accept or refuse. If he accepts, each player discards as many cards as he pleases, an equivalent number of cards being dealt from the stock. After taking cards, the non-dealer may propose again, and the dealer may again accept or refuse. The hand is next played (the king, if in hand, being first marked). The highest card of the suit led wins the trick; trumps win other suits. The second player must win the trick if he can. Three tricks count one; five tricks count two. If the non-dealer plays without proposing, and fails to make three tricks, or if the dealer refuses the first proposal and fails to make three tricks, the adversary counts two. The game is five up. Ecarté was first played in the Paris salons early in the 19th century; but a similar game, called Triomphe or French Ruff, in which there was no score for the king, is of considerable antiquity.