Vikos Gorge

Coordinates: 39°58′10″N 20°43′42″E / 39.96944°N 20.72833°E / 39.96944; 20.72833
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Vikos Gorge
View of Vikos Gorge from Beloi
Vikos Gorge is located in Greece
Vikos Gorge
Vikos Gorge
Geography
CountryGreece
State/ProvinceEpirus
DistrictIoannina
Population centerZagori
Coordinates39°58′10″N 20°43′42″E / 39.96944°N 20.72833°E / 39.96944; 20.72833 

The Vikos Gorge or Vikos Canyon (

Mount Tymphe with a length of about 32 km, depth ranging from 120 to 1350 m, and a width ranging from 2500 m to only a few meters at its narrowest part.[1]

Vikos is listed as the world's "deepest relative to its width" gorge by the

Guinness Book of Records[2]
among others.

Etymology

There are a number of views regarding the etymology of the name:[3]

  • According to Ioannis Lambridis it derives from Slavic and means 'chasm' or 'gorge'.
  • According to Evangelos Bogas it derives from the Greek βίκος 'stamnos with ears', which denotes the shape of the gorge and the echoes caused by sounds within it. The word was recorded in the lexicon of Hesychius of Alexandria.
  • According to Konstantinos Amantos it derives from the Greek phytonym βικίον.
  • According to Konstantinos Oikonomou it derives from an Albanian word for bridge or wooden pass, vig-u or vig-ku, due to an Ottoman-era wooden bridge that was once placed in the canyon; Kostandin Kristoforidhi associates it with the ancient Greek word βαβύκα 'bridge', recorded in the lexicon of Hesychius of Alexandria. Τhe same word is also found in the Greek dialects of northern Epirus with the form βίγκι, and in Aromanian with the forms vig or viga.

Location

The gorge is found in the core zone of the Vikos–Aoös National Park, in the Zagori region. Its main part begins between the villages of Vitsa and Koukouli and ends near the village of Vikos (or Vitsiko).[4] The gorge collects the waters of a number of small, mostly seasonal streams and leads them into the Voidomatis River which forms in the end part of the main gorge. The major part of the Vikos gorge stream is only seasonal, and is permanent only at the lowest part of the gorge.[1] Vikos is also a site of major scientific interest, because it is in almost virgin condition, it is a haven for endangered species and contains many and varied ecosystems.

Geomorphology

Panoramic view of Vikos Gorge.

The Vikos Gorge, with a length of 32 km (20 mi), walls that range from 120–1,350 m (390–4,400 ft) deep, and a width ranging from 2,500 m (8,202 ft) to just a few meters at its narrowest part, is listed by the

Guinness Book of Records as the deepest canyon in the world in proportion to its width,[2][5] though some gorge lobbyists contest that claim.[6] The main part of the gorge stretches from the village of Vikos to Monodendri, and attains a depth of about 1,350 m (4,429 ft).[7]

The landscape of the 32 km long gorge, 12 km of which belongs to the park's core zone,

Aoös
(Vjosa).

As the Vikos Gorge is a deep cross section of the mountain, its slopes expose a series of rock formations of various ages. The upper layers, at a depth of 0–200 m (660 ft), consist of relatively young

Middle Pleistocene.[11] The final phase of glacial activity probably occurred during the Last Glacial Maximum, between 22,000 and 20,000 ago.[12]

During the large

interstadial periods, more effective coupling occurred between the surface drainage network and the internal karst drainage system.[13] Since limestone dissolves as the water percolates through its pores, an extended underground drainage system has developed, with caves and channels that enlarge with time when their roofs collapse, producing rocky exposures and perpendicular slopes, which is also the reason why the water is scarce. Only when an impenetrable stratum is met, does water appear on the surface.[9]

Wildlife

Flora

A significant number of herbs of the Vikos Gorge and adjacent areas within the Vikos-Aoos National park were regarded to have medicinal properties and were once harvested by local healers, colloquially referred to as "

Mentha spicata, the gas-plant Dictamnus albus, St John’s Wort Hypericum perforatum, absinth Artemisia absinthium, the very popular Sideritis raeseri, known colloquially in Greece as “mountain tea”, and the elder bush Sambucus nigra.[16] A chemical screening of these native plant species has shown that a high number of them are characterized by biologically active ingredients.[14] A collection of 2,500 dried species of local plants and herbs is exhibited in the local natural history museum in the village of Koukouli.[17]

Fauna

One of the special local attractions is the existence of the chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra), a rare species that lives at higher altitudes far from human activity, especially at the rocky cliffs,[18] for example in Megas Lakos, a secondary ravine of the Vikos Gorge.[19][20]

Recreation

There is a natural viewing platform over the deepest part of the gorge at Oxia, a location 8 km by a newly constructed road from the village of

Monodendri. Another viewpoint over the gorge is at Beloi, on the eastern side of the gorge, accessible from the village of Vradeto
.

A hiking trail descends into the gorge from Monodendri. The trail then leads north through the gorge to the springs of the Voidomatis river, from where paths lead out of the gorge to the village of

Kipi
.

Human history

Important

Monodendri and Vitsa, including stone houses and two cemeteries that have yielded important findings.[22] However, for most of the historical period the local population in the nearby villages was sparse. The land adjacent of the Vikos gorge, as well as the gorge itself, was mainly used for pastoralism and supplying firewood.[23]

Gallery

  • View of Vikos Gorge from Oxia.
    View of Vikos Gorge from Oxia.
  • View of Vikos Gorge from Oxia.
    View of Vikos Gorge from Oxia.
  • View of Vikos Gorge from Vikos village.
    View of Vikos Gorge from Vikos village.
  • View of Vikos Gorge from Vikos village.
    View of Vikos Gorge from Vikos village.
  • Trail that leads to Vikos Gorge.
    Trail that leads to Vikos Gorge.
  • Trail that leads to Vikos Gorge.
    Trail that leads to Vikos Gorge.


References

  1. ^ a b Amanatidou, Despoina (2005). "A case study in Vikos-Aoos National Park - Greece" (PDF). University of Freiburg. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-1-892051-22-6
    .
  3. hdl:10442/hedi/0252
    . Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  4. NATURA 2000. 2009. p. 8. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
  5. ^ Hatzopoulou Magda. "About Greece-Landscape" (PDF). General Secretariat of Information, Greece. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-03-20. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
  6. ISBN 978-1-74104-656-4
    .
  7. ^ Amanatidou: p. 17
  8. ^ a b Hanlidou, Kokkini 1997, p. 2
  9. ^ a b Amanatidou 2005, pp. 21–22
  10. ^ Amanatidou p. 32
  11. ^ Woodward, Hamlin, Macklin, Hughes, Lewin 2008, p. 64
  12. ^ Woodward, Hamlin, Macklin, Hughes, Lewin 2008, p. 49
  13. ^ Woodward, Hamlin, Macklin, Hughes, Lewin 2008, p. 63
  14. ^ a b Hanlidou, Kokkini 1997, p. 1
  15. ^ Vokou, Katradia, Kokkini 1993, p. 1,8
  16. ^ Vokou, Katradia, Kokkini 1993, pp. 3–8
  17. ISBN 978-1-86011-898-2.[permanent dead link
    ]
  18. ^ Natura 2000: p. 9
  19. ^ Amanatidou 2005, p. 29
  20. ^ Drakopoulou 2004, p. 26
  21. S2CID 129633469
    .
  22. ^ Papadopoulou 2008, p. 14
  23. ^ Amanatidou 2005, p. 34

External links

Media related to Vikos Gorge at Wikimedia Commons

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