Acarnanian Mountains
Encyclopedia
The Acarnanian Mountains (Greek: Ακαρνανικό, Akarnaniko) is a mountain range
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...

 dominating the northwestern part of the Aetolia-Acarnania
Aetolia-Acarnania
Aetolia-Acarnania is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Greece. It is located in the western part of Greece; the regional unit is a combination of the geographic regions Aetolia and Acarnania. Its capital is Missolonghi for historical reasons, with its biggest...

 regional unit in western Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. Its length is approximately 20 km long and its width is approximately 10 km wide. The Ionian Sea
Ionian Sea
The Ionian Sea , is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula to the west, southern Albania to the north, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and...

 lies to the west. The mountains are famous for its production of spring water. The spring water is bottled on the northern end of the mountains and is named Korpi. The main road linking Vonitsa
Vonitsa
Vonitsa is a town in the northwestern part of Aetolia-Acarnania in Greece, seat of the municipality of Aktio-Vonitsa. Population 4,081 . The town is situated in the bay overlooking the Ambracian Gulf and has a small forested peninsula, the peninsula and its narrow strait is in the northwest of...

 and Astakos
Astakos
Astakos is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Xiromero, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located on the eastern shore of the Ionian Sea but small hills to the west of the town block...

 lies in the western part.

Information

Forests are found in the outer part of the mountain, bushes are sporadically found, grasslands and rocks along with ledges covers the rest of the mountain range.

Description

The mountains are composed of limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 and are generally barren with the exception of the northern faces and the higher elevations. The highest peak is Psili Korfi which means "high peak" and stands at 1589 meters. Directly to the south of Psili Korfi is Boumistos mountain which stands at 1573 meters. Boumistos received its name because of the many lightning strikes that land near the summit. To the west of Boumistos and Psili Korfi is Misovouni which stands at 1338 meters. To the west of Misovouni is Serekas mountain which towers 1171 meters above the Ionian Sea
Ionian Sea
The Ionian Sea , is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula to the west, southern Albania to the north, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and...

. On the western foothills of Serekas is the convent of Ayios Dimitrios which is run by a few nuns. To the north of Psili Korfi is Perganti mountain which has a height of 1428 meters. On the summit of Perganti is a radio tower facility which services the region surrounding the Amvrakikos Gulf. The northernmost rampart of the range is Agriovouni which stands at 563.5 meters.

Weather

The mountains enjoy a wide variety of weather depending on the season. In the summer temperatures can be quite hot as the surrounding region can reach up to 90 °F (32.2 °C). In the higher elevations, summertime temperatures can drop into the 50's during the day and even cooler at night. Autumn sees even cooler temperatures with heavy rainfall as the area receives over 40 inches (1,016 mm) of rain per year. Winter can be cold with snow falling on the higher elevations as early as November and as late as April. January and February are the coldest months with snow falling in the villages that surround the range that are as low as 250 meters. At the village of Monastiraki January temperatures are below freezing on several nights. The highest summits can receive up to 3 foot (0.9144 m) of snow in a strong winter storm. Spring time weather is pleasant with the occasional cold spell coming from the northeast.

Nearest places

  • Thyrio, north
  • Tryfos, northeast
  • Katouna, east
  • Komposti, east
  • Anthochori, southeast
  • Kandyli, south
  • Palairos, northwest
  • Monastiraki, northwest

Panorama

Its panorama includes the nearby mountains to the north and east including the Panaitoliko
Panaitoliko
Panaitoliko is a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Agrinio, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 1,853 . The seat of the municipality was in Skoutera....

 mountains and mountains of the northwestern Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...

 including Movri
Movri
Movri , is a mountain range that is in the municipalities of Movri, Dymi to the northeast, Oleni in the western part of Achaea and the western part was partly in the prefecture of Elis with the municipality of Vouprasia until the 1970s. It is located about 30 km SW of Patras, W of...

 and Scollis, but the Panachaiko
Panachaiko
The Panachaikon or Panachaiko , also known as Vodias in medieval times and until the early 20th century, is a mountain range that spans about 20 km in length from north to south , and 15 to 20 km from east to west...

 and some mountains cannot be seen. The eastern half of the Acheloos
Acheloos
Acheloos may refer to:* Acheloos River, in Greece* Achelous, a river deity in Greek mythology* Acheloos , a municipality in the Karditsa prefecture, Greece...

 Valley and the Aitolian Fields can be seen. Parts of the islands of Kefalonia
Kefalonia
The island of Cephalonia, also known as Kefalonia, Cephallenia, Cephallonia, Kefallinia, or Kefallonia , is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece, with an area of . It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit...

, Ithaca
Ithaca
Ithaca or Ithaka is an island located in the Ionian Sea, in Greece, with an area of and a little more than three thousand inhabitants. It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit. It lies off the northeast coast of Kefalonia and...

 and Lefkada
Lefkada
Lefkada, or Leucas or Leucadia , is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea on the west coast of Greece, connected to the mainland by a long causeway and floating bridge. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Lefkada . It is situated on the northern part of the island,...

 can be seen to the west. The view of the Ambracian Gulf
Ambracian Gulf
The Ambracian Gulf, also known as the Gulf of Arta or the Gulf of Actium, and in some official documents as the Amvrakikos Gulf , is a gulf of the Ionian Sea in northwestern Greece. About long and wide, it is one of the largest enclosed gulfs in Greece...

 and several mountains of Epirus
Epirus (region)
Epirus is a geographical and historical region in southeastern Europe, shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay of Vlorë in the north to the Ambracian Gulf in the south...

can rarely be seen to the north from the highest elevations.
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