Euripos

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Euripos
The Euripos Canal with the old bridge in Chalkida at its narrowest point.  Left the island part, right the mainland of the city
The Euripos Canal with the old bridge in Chalkida at its narrowest point. Left the island part, right the mainland of the city
Connects waters Northern Gulf of Evia
with water Southern Gulf of Evia
Separates land mass Euboea
of land mass Boeotia
Data
Geographical location 38 ° 27 '46 "  N , 23 ° 35' 22"  E Coordinates: 38 ° 27 '46 "  N , 23 ° 35' 22"  E
Euripos (Greece)
Euripos
Smallest width 40 m
Coastal towns Chalkida
bridges Old Bridge, New Bridge
The new bridge from 1992
The new bridge from 1992

The Euripos ( Greek Εύριπος , Évripos ) is a natural sea channel between the Greek island of Evia and the mainland. The narrowest strait in the world is only 40 meters wide at its narrowest point and divides the island's capital Chalkida in two halves.

A special feature of the strait is its unusual, changing tidal currents : the regular currents change direction four times, whereas the irregular currents , which occur with the waxing moon, change direction up to twelve times a day.

Surname

The name Euripos goes back to a mythological event: Euripos , an ancient researcher who lived in Chalkida, wanted to get to the bottom of the secret of the changing directions of flow. He drowned in one of his attempts to swim the canal at its narrowest and at the same time most dangerous place.

The term Euripus , which was used to describe a long, narrow pool of water in Roman architecture, is derived from the strait .

traffic

At the narrowest point of the strait, a bridge has been connecting Evia with the mainland for centuries. The current bridge from 1962 can be opened if necessary to allow larger ships to pass through. To do this, the side railings are first folded inwards before the entire bridge is lowered a little and finally retracted horizontally to the left and right. Located in the middle of the city of Chalkida, it is the main connection between Euboea and Attica . In 1992, a multi-lane cable-stayed bridge was also completed over the Euripos Canal, which has significantly improved the flow of traffic.

Web links

Commons : Euripos  - collection of images, videos and audio files