Haliacmon
Haliacmon is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index, part of the Aliakmonas system. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- System
- Aliakmonas
- Coordinates
- 40.14°, 21.85°
About Haliacmon
The Haliacmon (Greek: Αλιάκμονας, Aliákmonas; formerly: Ἁλιάκμων, Aliákmon or Haliákmōn) is the longest river of Greece, flowing entirely on Greek soil in the region of Macedonia, with a total length of 297 km (185 mi). In Greece there are three rivers longer than Haliacmon: Evros (Greek: Έβρος), Strymonas (Greek: Στρυμόνας), both coming from Bulgaria, and Axios (Greek: Αξιός) coming from North Macedonia, but the length of each one of them in Greek territory is less than that of Haliacmon, which flows entirely in Greece. Haliacmon is the traditional English name for the river, but many sources cite the formerly official Katharevousa version of the name, Aliákmon. Today, the only official variant is the demotic Aliákmonas. It flows through the Greek regions of Western Macedonia (Kastoria, Grevena and Kozani regional units) and Central Macedonia (Imathia and Pieria regional units). Its drainage basin is 8,813 km2 (3,403 sq mi).
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Haliacmon (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Haliacmon in Depth
Course and tributaries
Before the construction of its diversion dam near the village of Aghia Varvara in the mid-1950s, Haliacmon had no permanent river bed in its lowland course. It often flooded and formed extensive marshes. Its devastating fury in December 1935 remains fresh in memory of the elder inhabitants of the region (Veria and Alexandreia).
The Haliacmon rises in the Gramos mountains of Western Macedonia, near the international border with Albania. In its upper course it flows generally towards the east, and turns southeast near Kastoria. It describes a wide curve around the Vourinos mountains, and turns northeast near the village Paliouria.
History
In antiquity, Claudius Ptolemy called the chain of mountains in which the river rises (northern Pindus) the Canalovii. According to Julius Caesar, the Haliacmon formed the line of demarcation between Macedon and Thessaly. In the upper part of its course it took a southeast direction through Elimiotis, which it watered; and then, continuing to the northeast, formed the boundary between Pieria, Eordaea, and Imathia. In the time of Herodotus the Haliacmon was apparently joined by the Loudias 7, 127, the discharge of the lake of Pella; but a change has taken place in the course of the Loudias, which no longer joins the Haliacmon, but flows directly into the Aegean Sea.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Haliacmon (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Haliacmon: Key Facts
| Length | 297 km |
|---|---|
| Drainage basin | 6,972 km² |
| Source | Gramos |
| Mouth | Thermaic Gulf |
| Tributaries | Ladopotamos, Venetikos, Moglenitsas, Stravopotamos |
Facts from Wikidata Q640366 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Haliacmon: Quick Answers
- Where is Haliacmon?
- Haliacmon is located in Greece, at 40.1392° N, 21.8497° E.
- Are there dams on the Haliacmon?
- No dam on the Haliacmon is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.
- Which river system is the Haliacmon part of?
- The Haliacmon is part of the Aliakmonas system.