The Belice, , is a river of western

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. It is about long. From its main source near Piana degli Albanesi it runs south and west for as the Belice Destro ("right Belice") until it is joined near

Poggioreale Poggioreale ( Sicilian: ''Poggiuriali'') is a ghost town and ''comune'' in the province of Trapani, western Sicily, southern Italy, located in the Belice The Belice, , is a river of western Sicily. It is about long. From its main source nea ...

by its secondary branch, the Belice Sinistro ("left Belice"), which rises on the slopes of

Rocca Busambra Rocca Busambra is the highest peak in the Monti Sicani, in western Sicily, southern Italy. It has an elevation of . Geography The mount has the appearance of a flat, isolated ridge, with the Bosco della Ficuzza wood occupying its slopes. It is ...

. The Belice proper then flows for another or so before entering the

Strait of Sicily The Strait of Sicily (also known as Sicilian Strait, Sicilian Channel, Channel of Sicily, Sicilian Narrows and Pantelleria Channel; it, Canale di Sicilia or the Stretto di Sicilia; scn, Canali di Sicilia or Strittu di Sicilia, ar, مضيق ص ...

to the east of the

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

site of

Selinunte Selinunte (; grc, Σελῑνοῦς, Selīnoûs ; la, Selīnūs , ; scn, Silinunti ) was a rich and extensive ancient Greek city on the south-western coast of Sicily in Italy. It was situated between the valleys of the Cottone and Modion ...

. During Classical times it was known as the ''Hypsas''.

History

The middle section of the Belice valley was hit by the January

1968 Belice earthquake The 1968 Belice earthquake sequence took place in Sicily between 14 and 15 January. The largest shock measured 5.5 on the moment magnitude scale, with five others of magnitude 5+. The maximum perceived intensity was X (''Extreme'') on the Mer ...

which completely destroyed numerous centres of population, including

Gibellina Gibellina (Sicilian language, Sicilian: ''Jibbiddina'', Arabic: "little mount" - جبل صغير) is a small city and ''comune'' in the Province of Trapani, the mountains of central Sicily, Italy. It was destroyed by the 1968 Belice earthquake. ...

Montevago Montevago ( Sicilian: ''Muntivau'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about southwest of Palermo and about northwest of Agrigento. Montevago borders the following municipalities: ...

and

Salaparuta Salaparuta is a town and ''comune'' in South-Western Sicily, Italy, in the valley of the Belice river, administratively part of the province of Trapani. In 1968, the original site of the town was near the epicentre of the Belice Valley earthqua ...

. Three hundred and seventy people died, a thousand were injured and some 70,000 people were made homeless.

References

Rivers of Italy Rivers of Sicily Rivers of the Province of Palermo Rivers of the Province of Trapani European drainage basins of the Mediterranean Sea {{Italy-river-stub