Aroania

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Aroania (Αροάνεια)
Stygos waterfall on Aroania

Stygos waterfall on Aroania

height 2341  m
location Achaia , Peloponnese , Greece
Coordinates 37 ° 59 ′ 0 ″  N , 22 ° 11 ′ 0 ″  E Coordinates: 37 ° 59 ′ 0 ″  N , 22 ° 11 ′ 0 ″  E
Aroania (Greece)
Aroania

Aroania ( Greek Αροάνεια ( n. Pl. ), Also transcribed as Aroaneia; alternative name Chelmos in Greek Χελμός ( f. Sg. )) Is a mountain range in the north of the Peloponnese in the east of the Achaia landscape in Greece with a maximum height of 2341  m . The name Chelmos is derived from the Slavic word chelm хълм for 'mountain'.

The Aroania massif extends over 15 to 20 km from north to south and about 5 to 10 km from west to east. On the eastern flank of the Aroania, the village of Kalavryta is on the border between Achaia and the Peloponnese region and the Korinthia region . The Kalavryta ski area is located on the same flank in the northern part of the mountain range. The Aroania is the third highest mountain in the Peloponnese and one of the twenty highest mountains in Greece. The second highest mountain in the Peloponnese, Kyllini , lies east of the Aroania. The 200 meter high Styx waterfall plunges down the south-eastern rock face of the Neraidorachi (2238 meters). The Vouraikos river rises from the Aroania massif and flows northwest into the Gulf of Corinth . The Aroania has several caves and peaks. Ostrakia (1860 m, in the north-west of the massif) and Mikros Chelmos are known as secondary peaks.

Between 800 and 1800 m altitude, the Aroania is overgrown with pine forests on its west, south and east flanks. There are also forests on the northern slope of the mountain range. From an altitude of 1500 m, grasslands and scree fields increasingly dominate. In 2001 a forest fire destroyed large areas of the Aroania forest.

In ancient times, the mountain was called Aroania and was part of the ancient landscape of Arcadia. In the Middle Ages and during the Ottoman occupation of the Peloponnese, the name Chelmos was more common. It was not until the 20th century that the name Aroania caught on again.

Radio and television transmission systems have been installed on the Aroania. The municipality of Aroania , which lies to the southwest with the administrative seat of Psofida, was named after the mountain range. Also in the Aroania there is an observatory with a reflecting telescope 2.3 meters in diameter; this belongs to the National Observatory Athens .