Chania ( el, Περιφερειακή ενότητα Χανίων) is one of the four regional units of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

; it covers the westernmost quarter of the island. Its capital is the city of

Chania Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion. The muni ...

. Chania borders only one other regional unit: that of

Rethymno Rethymno ( el, Ρέθυμνο, , also ''Rethimno'', ''Rethymnon'', ''Réthymnon'', and ''Rhíthymnos'') is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 30,000 inhabitants ...

to the east. The western part of Crete is bounded to the north by the Cretan Sea, and to the west and south by the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

. The regional unit also includes the southernmost island of Europe,

Gavdos Gavdos ( el, Γαύδος, ) is the southernmost Greek island, located to the south of its much larger neighbour, Crete, of which it is administratively a part, in the regional unit of Chania. It forms a community with surrounding islets and was ...

Geography

Chania regional unit, often informally termed 'Western Crete', is a part of the island which includes the districts of Apokoronas,

Sfakia Sfakiá ( el, Σφακιά) is a mountainous area in the southwestern part of the island of Crete, in the Chania regional unit. It is considered to be one of the few places in Greece that have never been fully occupied by foreign powers. With a ...

, and

Selino Selino is a historical region and a former province of Crete. It is located in the remote southwestern corner of the island, in the Chania regional unit. It is a rugged and remote area in the foothills of the Lefka Ori (White Mountains) and als ...

in the far South West corner. Other towns in the Chania prefecture include

Hora Sfakion Image:Chora Sfakion 1941 evacuation monument.jpg, 200px, Monument commemorating the evacuation during WW2 of British and ANZAC forces from Hora Sfakion in May 1941. ''Click on the left plaque for a closer view'' rect 198 536 320 1082 rect 0 0 90 ...

, Kissamos, Palaiochora,

Maleme Maleme ( el, Μάλεμε) is a small village and military airport to the west of Chania, in north western Crete, Greece. It is located in Platanias municipality, in Chania regional unit. History Bronze Age A Late Minoan tholos tomb has been ...

, Vryses, Vamos, Georgioupolis and

Kalives Kalyves () is a large village in Crete, Greece, the main village in the municipal unit of Armenoi. It is now a popular tourist resort that has maintained its Cretan character. It is said that the Kalyves took their name from the makeshift accommo ...

. The natural park of

Samariá Gorge The Samariá Gorge ( el, Φαράγγι Σαμαριάς or just ''Φάραγγας'') is a National Park of Greece since 1962 on the island of Crete – a major tourist attraction of the island – and a World's Biosphere Reserve. The go ...

, a tourist attraction and a refuge for the rare Cretan wild goat or ''

kri-kri The kri-kri (''Capra hircus cretica''), sometimes called the Cretan goat, Agrimi, or Cretan Ibex, is a feral goat inhabiting the Eastern Mediterranean, previously considered a subspecies of wild goat. The kri-kri today is found only in Greece o ...

'', is in the South of the regional unit. The White Mountains or ''

Lefka Ori Lefka Ori ( el, Λευκά Όρη, meaning 'White Mountains') or Madares ( from the Cretan Greek meaning 'without coverage, bald, bare of any vegetation for high mountain areas') is a mountain range located in Western Crete, in the Chania prefect ...

'', through which the Samaria, Aradena, Imbros and other gorges run, are the

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

peaks topped by snow until May that occupy much of Chania regional unit. They contain more than 40 peaks over 2,000 meters high. The highest peak in this area is Pachnes, at 2,453 meters above sea level. The regional unit also includes three headlands, known as the "three heads" of Crete. From east to west, they are: Akrotiri, Rodopos (also called Spatha) and Gramvousa.pp. 74-77 Western Crete is popular with tourists for its spring flowers that linger on into early May in the mountains. Birdwatching is also common, with the

lammergeier The bearded vulture (''Gypaetus barbatus''), also known as the lammergeier and ossifrage, is a very large bird of prey and the only member of the genus ''Gypaetus''. Traditionally considered an Old World vulture, it actually forms a separate m ...

and

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...

especially sought for. As an island, Crete has many

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

species of plant and animal. Crete's only freshwater lake, Lake Kournas, is in the regional unit close to the border with Rethymno regional unit, 47 km from Chania. It is relatively large, with a perimeter of 3.5 km. The lake used to be called 'Korisia' after ancient 'Korion', a city thought to be in the area with a temple to

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded ...

. The lake used to be reportedly full of eels but now is better known for its terrapins and tourists. Tavernas and pedalo rental shops line part of the shore. Chania is the regional unit of Crete that receives the most precipitation. The Exkursionsflora von Kreta by Jahn & Schoenfelder has a precipitation map and text confirming that in general, western Crete (Chania prefecture) has more precipitation than any other region on an average basis.

Administration

The regional unit Chania is subdivided into seven municipalities. These are (number as in the map in the infobox): * Apokoronas (2) *

(1) *

(3) * Kantanos-Selino (4) * Kissamos (5) * Platanias (6) *

(7)

Prefecture

The Chania prefecture ( el, Νομός Χανίων) was created while Crete was still an

autonomous state An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy— ...

, and was preserved after the island joined Greece in 1913. As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the Chania regional unit was created out of the former prefecture. The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below.

Provinces

The

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

were: * Apokoronas Province - Vamos *

Kissamos Province Kissamos ( el, Κίσσαμος) is a town and a municipality in the west of the island of Crete, Greece. It is part of the Chania regional unit and of the former Kissamos Province which covers the northwest corner of the island. The town of Kissa ...

- Kissamos * Kydonia Province - Chania *

Selino Province Selino is a historical region and a former province of Crete. It is located in the remote southwestern corner of the island, in the Chania regional unit. It is a rugged and remote area in the foothills of the Lefka Ori (White Mountains) and als ...

- Kandanos * Sfakia Province - Chora Sfakion

Communications

* Kydon TV

Notable people

* Eleftherios Venizelos (1864–1936), prime minister of Greece * Michael Bletsas, Director of Computing at the MIT Media Lab * Angelos Bletsas, MIT alumnus * Constantinos Daskalakis, Assistant Professor at MIT

References

External links

Municipalities of Chania: Δήμοι Νομού Χανίων

Maps

Map of Chania regionWikimapia Chania RegionExplore Chania – Travel Guide – Vacation & Trip Ideas
��guide {{Authority control Prefectures of Greece Regional units of Crete