The Sitia or Siteia Mountains, also known as the Sitiaka Range, are a group of four
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...
s extending SW-NE in
Lasithi in eastern
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
. Stretching from the southern coast to the plain of the city of Sitia on the northern coast, they tend to isolate east Crete from the rest of Crete, creating a refugium for the rare plant and animal species and a refuge for the ancient people practising the Minoan culture. In this ancient refuge are now to be found the ruins of Minoan sites at
Mochlos,
Kato Zakro,
Palaikastro
Palaikastro or Palekastro ( el, Παλαίκαστρο, officially el, Παλαίκαστρον), with the Godart and Olivier abbreviation PK, is a thriving town, geographic heir to a long line of settlements extending back into prehistoric tim ...
, and
Kavousi
Kavousi is a historic village in the municipality of Ierapetra in the prefecture of Lasithi in eastern Crete. "Kavousi" in the Cretan dialect means "water source" (Greek: Πηγή). The village is situated 19 km (11.8 mi) northeast of Ie ...
. These are four of the major sites of East Crete, but the number of sites recorded or excavated is in the hundreds. Endemic species, many rare or endangered, are to be found in the gorges that cut from upland to ocean or valley on all sides.
Geography
The four ranges are configured in two rows, termed the West Sitia Mountains
and the East Sitia Mountains. The west side is divided from the east side by the Rema Pentelis ("Pentelis river"), a stream with its valley that flows S-N across most of Crete at that point, entering the Bay of Sitia just east of Sitia. The town of Sitia (or Siteia} is situated in some flat land, the Plain of Sitia, forming a port in the Bay of Sitia. The port is a road center and major access point to East Crete. It is the site of the major services to the area: the seaport, the airport, the hospital, educational services, and so on. The villages scattered throughout the mountains and along the coast are becoming more and more summer residences catering to tourism. Some, such as Voila and Etia, have been completely abandoned, and give the appearance of an ancient ruined village.
The West Sitia Mountains comprise three ranges abutting each other south to north. The differences are entirely geomorphological or geopolitical and are conventional. The
Thrypti
Thrypti ( el, Θρυπτή) is a mountain range in Lasithi in eastern Crete, Greece. It trends to the northeast from Ierapetra in the southwest in the direction of Sitia. However, it only goes half-way in that direction. The rest of the distance ...
Mountains are located in the southwest. They trend to the northeast from
Ierapetra
Ierapetra ( el, Ιεράπετρα, lit=sacred stone; ancient name: ) is a Greece, Greek town and municipality located on the southeast coast of Crete.
History
The town of Ierapetra (in the local dialect: Γεράπετρο ''Gerapetro'') is loc ...
in the direction of
Sitia. However, they only go half-way in that direction. The rest of the distance is completed by the distinct
Ornon mountains, separated from the Thrypti by the Bebonas river valley, and the
Western Siteia Foothills
The Western Siteia Foothills are a range of foothills in Lasithi in eastern Crete, Greece. They are transitional in altitude between the Ornon Mountains, which trends from west to east starting at Kavousi in Ierapetra and ending at Praesos in ...
, of lower elevation, covering the space between the Ornon range and Siteia itself.
The East Sitia Mountains consist only of the
Zakros mountains, also trending SW-NE.
Parkland
The 2015 creation of
Sitia UNESCO Global Geopark placed much of the Sitia range in the park. It is the major range there, but not the only. The coastal hill range (east coast) also is in it, so the park comprises all of Crete east of the Mochlos-Livari line. The line trends NW-SE, so that much of Thrypti is actually omitted from the park.
See also
*
Thrypti
Thrypti ( el, Θρυπτή) is a mountain range in Lasithi in eastern Crete, Greece. It trends to the northeast from Ierapetra in the southwest in the direction of Sitia. However, it only goes half-way in that direction. The rest of the distance ...
*
Ornon Mountains, Crete
Ornon ( el, Ὄρνον) is a mountain range in Lasithi in eastern Crete, Greece. It trends from west to east starting at Kavousi in Ierapetra and ending at Praesos in the east. Part of the Sitia Mountains, it is northeast of Thrypti and south o ...
*
Western Siteia Foothills
The Western Siteia Foothills are a range of foothills in Lasithi in eastern Crete, Greece. They are transitional in altitude between the Ornon Mountains, which trends from west to east starting at Kavousi in Ierapetra and ending at Praesos in ...
*
Zakros Mountains, Crete
Notes
Citations
External links
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Mountains of Crete
Mountain ranges of Greece
Landforms of Lasithi