The Zigana Pass ( tr, Zigana Geçidi) is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...

situated on the Pontic Mountains in Gümüşhane Province close to its border with Trabzon Province in northeastern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. The pass, at above sea level, is on the route at a distance of from Gümüşhane and from

Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the Bl ...

at the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

coast. The pass is snow-covered five months a year. The

Zigana Tunnel The Zigana Tunnel ( tr, Zigana Tüneli) is a road tunnel constructed on the Maçka, Trabzon– Torul, Gümüşhane state highway southwest of the provincial border Trabzon–Gümüşhane, northeastern Turkey. It was opened to traffic in 1988. ...

under the pass, at an elevation of above sea level, is long, wide and has a maximum height of . It is one of longest tunnels in the country. The namesake village of Zigana, located southwest of the tunnel, is a popular ski-resort. Nearby Lake Limni is reachable on foot by a trail or by car on a road (partly unpaved) via Kalkanlı village. On 25 January 2009, an

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...

killed 11 hikers on

Mount Zigana Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

. Zingana pass is the pass through which the Myriads of Xenofon passed through on their way out of Persia ( Ξενοφων «καθοδος των μυριων «) and shouted Thalatta Thalatta ( sea sea) when they saw the coast of Trabzon (Τραπεζουντα ) at Black Sea

References

Gallery

Lilies at Zigana Pass File:Lil monadelphum var armenum 02Infl Tuerkei Ziganapass 30 06 93.jpg File:Lil monadelphum var armenum 01Hab Tuerkei Ziganapass 30 06 93.jpg File:Lil monadelphum var armenum 01Infl Tuerkei Ziganapass 30 06 93.jpg File:Lil ciliatum 02Hab Tuerkei Ziganapass 30 06 93bs3.jpg {{Mountain passes of Turkey Mountain passes of Turkey Landforms of Gümüşhane Province