  This study is a first synthesis focused on incised-valleys located within the
inner shelf of the Bay of Biscay. It is based on previously published results
obtained during recent seismic surveys and coring campaigns. The morphology of
the valleys appears to be strongly controlled by tectonics and lithology. The
Pleistocene sedimentary cover of the shelf is very thin and discontinuous with
a maximum thickness ranging between 30 and 40 m in incised-valley fills. Thus
the incised bedrock morphology plays a key-role by controlling hydrodynamics
and related sediment transport and deposition that explains some variations of
those incised-valley fills with respect to the previously published general
models.
