Nestos (river)

Coordinates: 40°50′51″N 24°48′15″E / 40.84750°N 24.80417°E / 40.84750; 24.80417
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Nestos (Νέστος), Mesta (Места)
Rila Mountains, Bulgaria
 • coordinates42°07′10″N 23°35′10″E / 42.11944°N 23.58611°E / 42.11944; 23.58611
 • elevation2,240 m (7,350 ft)
Mouth 
 • location
Aegean Sea opposite Thasos, Greece
 • coordinates
40°50′51″N 24°48′15″E / 40.84750°N 24.80417°E / 40.84750; 24.80417
Length230 km (140 mi)
Basin size5,184 km2 (2,002 sq mi)
Discharge 
 • locationHadzhidimovo, Bulgaria
 • average29.85 m3/s (1,054 cu ft/s)

The Nestos (

freshwater lakes and ponds forming the Nestos delta. The length of the river is 230 km (140 mi), of which 126 km (78 mi) flow through Bulgaria[1] and the rest in Greece. Its drainage area is 5,184 km2 (2,002 sq mi), of which 66% is in Bulgaria.[2] It forms some gorges in Rila and Pirin. The longest gorge between Pirin to the west and the Rhodope Mountains to the east is the 25-km long Momina Klisura
in Bulgaria.

The Mesta's longest tributary is the

Greek Macedonia and Thrace, as well as the boundary between the Kavala and the Xanthi regional units, having first crossed the Drama regional unit
. The river later forms a delta to the north where swamplands, wetlands and a lagoon once existed except in the east.

History

In the Geography of Claudius Ptolemy, the river is referred to as Nestus (Νέστος), and is said to form the boundary between ancient Macedonia and Thrace.[3]

Because of its flow between

Roman road of Via Egnatia) that served the communication between the East and the West. In Nestos' valley (east bank) north of the south pass, the Dii used to live, while Satrae were living to the south. Finally, Nestos played an important role in the urban and economic history of the inhabitants of the estuary, where the city of Abdera and later Topeiros, founded by the Emperor Trajan. This is presumed by the deification of the river and its depiction on coins of the imperial period.[4]

Honour

Mesta Peak on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Mesta River.

Gallery

  • Nestos in Greece
    Nestos in Greece
  • The Momina Klisura gorge along the Mesta in Bulgaria
    The Momina Klisura gorge along the Mesta in Bulgaria

References

  1. ^ Statistical Yearbook 2017, National Statistical Institute (Bulgaria), p. 17
  2. ^ "Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment" (in Greek). Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change. p. 90. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020.
  3. ^ Geography of Claudius Ptolemy, Book 3, Chapter 11
  4. ^ D. C. Samsaris, Historical Geography of Western Thrace during the Roman Antiquity (in Greek), Thessaloniki 2005, p. 33-36