| Crete
is 260 km long measured from Gramvoúsa in the west to Kap Síderos in the
east. The width varies from 60 km (between
Balí
and Kap Líthino)
to 12 km
(between Mirabéllos
Bay and Ierápetra).
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| The terrain is mountainous with three large massifs. Lefka Ori or Madares in the western part of the island is 2453 m high (the highest peak is called Pachnes). Idi or Psiloritis is in the central part of the island, where you find Psiloritis, the highest peak in Crete with its 2456 m. To the east are Dikti or the Lassithi Mountains that reach an altitude of 2148 m. |
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Psiloritis
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| In
addition to these high massifs you also find some smaller: Kedros (1777
m) is situated southwest of Idi
and forms the Amari Valley. Asterousia runs along the coast south of the
Messara Plain. East of the narrow "corridor" between Ierapetra
and the north coast Thripti rises steeply. Finally you find a lower part
of mountains south of Sitia.
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Crete also has a number of tablelands. The most important is the Lassithi Plain (900 m) in the Dikti mountains, which is an important agricultural area. In the Idi mountains is the Nida Plain situated in an altitude of 1400 m. In Lefka Ori is the Omalos Plain (1.080 m) that among other things is known from the old resistance song (Πότε θα κάνει ξαστεριά). | ||
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Omalos |
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| The
largest plain is the Messara Plain south of the Idi mountains. You also
find plains at Kastelli, Chania, Georgioupoli, Rethymno, south and east of
Iraklio and at Sitia.
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| You
do not find many bigger rivers
in Crete, but on the other hand it has
countless smaller ones. Almost all of them are dried out in summer but at
heavy showers and when the snow is melting in spring they change into
violent streams.
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| There is only one natural lake in Crete: Lake Kournas south of Georgioupoli. The other lakes you see are man-made and function as reservoirs. | |||
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Characteristic of Crete is the large amount of caves that are formed by the water's erosion of the limestone layers. An equal impressing phenomenon in the landscape of the island is the many gorges (Agía Iríni, Samariá, Arádena, Ímbros, Kourtaliótiko etc.). | ||
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The
Aradena Gorge |
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| Forests as we know them in Denmark do not exist in Crete, but especially in Western Crete you meet woodlands with coniferous, chestnut and oak. In many of the island's gorges you also find a rich growth. Futhermore there are small woods of the unique Phonix Theophrastii palm at Vai in Eastern Crete and at the beach near the monastery Preveli. |
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In the gorges and in the more inaccessible places in Crete you meet an exceptionally rich fauna and flora. There are many endemic plants and a species of a wild goat - the Kri-kri - which now lives freely only in the Lefka Ori, in the Samaria Gorge and on the small islands of Ágii Theódori and Día. | ||
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Kri-kri |
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| Even though Crete is a mountainous island with relatively few plains it still has a rich agricultural production because of the fertile soil, the good climate and - you probably have to add - the many greenhouses on the south coast. The most important crops are olives, grapes (for both wine and raisins), citrus (especially the sweet cretan oranges outdo by far what you can find in the danish market), vegetables, carobs, medicinal plants, bananas, avocados, kiwies etc. |
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Grapes hung to dry |
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Animals (especially sheep and goats) and fishing are important factors for the economy of the island too. Sheep and goats graze in the mountains, and the production of yoghurt and cheese from their milk (cretan graviera, kefalotyri, anthotiros and mizithra) is well-known for their tastiness and quality. | ||
