Platani

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Platani
Course of the Platani

Course of the Platani

Data
location Sicily
River system Platani
Source rivers two in the Sican Mountains
Source height approx.  1100  m slm
muzzle at Herakleia Minoa in the Strait of Sicily Coordinates: 37 ° 23 ′ 46 ″  N , 13 ° 16 ′ 20 ″  E 37 ° 23 ′ 46 ″  N , 13 ° 16 ′ 20 ″  E

length 103 km

The Platani is a river in Sicily . It has two source rivers in the Sican Mountains : one has its source at Santo Stefano Quisqina and crosses the area of Castronovo di Sicilia , the other has its source in the neighboring municipality of Lercara Friddi .

Accordingly, they are also called Platani by Castronovo and Platani by Lercara Friddi . They converge on the border of the Free Municipal Consortium of Agrigento and the metropolitan city of Palermo .

The united Platani then flows 84 km to the sea. It crosses the Free Municipal Consortium of Agrigento and in parts forms the border between the Free Municipal Consortium of Agrigento and Caltanissetta . It flows into the Strait of Sicily at the nature reserve Capo Bianco near the archaeological sites of Herakleia Minoa .

history

In ancient times the Platani was called Halykos . This is ancient Greek and means: salted or the salty. The river got this name because it flows for long stretches over salt deposits. Even today it is called the salty river ( fiume salato ) by the locals - in contrast to its tributary Turvoli , which is called the sweet river ( fiume dolce ).

The Halykos formed from 338 BC. BC for a long time the border between the spheres of interest of the Carthaginians and the Greeks . They also had fleets stationed there. At that time, large parts of the Platani were navigable and the river was rich in fish. Later the river plain was contaminated with malaria . Today the areas are free from malaria.

Due to the sulfur mining in the area of Cammarata , the river was very polluted with environmental toxins. Since the sulfur mines closed, flora and fauna have been recovering increasingly.

Tributaries

Gypsum rocks of Capo Bianco at the mouth of the Platani
The Platani estuary
  • Fiume Gallo d'Oro
  • Fiume Belici
  • Fiume Barbarigo
  • Vallone Tumarrano
  • Vallone della Terra
  • Fiume Turvoli
  • Vallone Gassegna
  • Vallone Garifo
  • Vallone Caculigommero
  • Vallone del Palo
  • Vallone Sparti Prenti
  • Vallone Morella

Web links

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