The Platani ( scn, Plàtani), known in
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
as the (''Lykos'', "wolf") or (''Halykos'', "Salty"), is a river in southern
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. It is the fifth longest in the island after
Imera Meridionale,
Simeto
The Simeto (; scn, Simetu; la, Symaethus; el, Σύμαιθος) is a long river in Sicily, southern Italy. At , it is the second longest river on the island after the Salso (also known as Southern Imera), but the most important in terms of wat ...
,
Belice
The Belice, , is a river of western Sicily. It is about long. From its main source near Piana degli Albanesi it runs south and west for as the Belice Destro ("right Belice") until it is joined near Poggioreale by its secondary branch, the Be ...
and
Dittaino
The Dittaino (Greek: ; Latin: Chrysas) is a river of central Sicily which rises in the Heraean Mountains, not far from the modern towns of Gangi and Enna. It is long.
After flowing through the territory of Assorus, where its tutelary divinity ...
, with a course of 103 km, and the third for
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...
with 1,785 km
2, after the Simeto and Imera Meridionale. It flows through the provinces of
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
and
Agrigento
Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one of ...
, marking the boundary between the latter and
that of Caltanissetta.
left, The Platani river near Heraclea Minoa.
The river generates at the confluence of Platani di Lercara and Platani di Castronuovo, which, respectively, springs in the ''
comuni
The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...
'' of
Lercara Friddi
Lercara Friddi is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo.
Founded in 1595 by local feudataries, it is on the slopes of Madore Hill, between the valleys o ...
(under the Pizzo Lanzone mountain) and
Santo Stefano Quisquina (between the Serra della Moneta and Pizzo della Rondine mountains). From the confluence to the mouth it runs for c. 83 km; including the branch of Castronuovo the total length is 103 km. Along its course the Platani receives the waters of several affluents, including the Gallo d'Oro, Turvoli, Vallone Morella, Vallone Tumarrano and Vallone di Aragona.
The river flows into the
Strait of Sicily, near
Capo Bianco, on the boundary of the ''comuni'' of
Ribera and
Cattolica Eraclea
Cattolica Eraclea (; scn, Catòlica) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about south of Palermo and about northwest of Agrigento
Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκρ ...
.
References
Sources
{{Authority control
Rivers of Italy
Rivers of Sicily
Rivers of the Province of Palermo
Rivers of the Province of Agrigento
Rivers of the Province of Caltanissetta
European drainage basins of the Mediterranean Sea