The Irminio ( scn, Iriminiu; it, Irminio; la, Hirminius) is a long river located in south-eastern

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

, southern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It is the most important of the rivers of the province of Ragusa. The river springs from Monte Lauro, the main peak of the Hyblaean Mountains, which form the main part of the mountainous southeast of Sicily and runs across the province from north-east to south-west before flowing into 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 ...

east of Marina di Ragusa. Its main affluences are the streams ''Cava Volpe'', ''Ciaramite'', ''Mastratto'', and near Ragusa Ibla the streams ''San Leonardo'' and ''Santa Domenica''.

Natural reserves

Halfway through its course the river is housing a small area classified as ''Oasi Irminio'' for the

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morp ...

and at its mouth the ''Natural reserve Macchia Foresta del fiume Irminio'' of .

Dam

The 10 November 1976 works started to build a dam along the river in the area between

Ragusa Ragusa is the historical name of Dubrovnik. It may also refer to: Places Croatia * the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa * Cavtat (historically ' in Italian), a town in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Cro ...

and Giarratana. The structure, tall, was completed in 1983 to create the '' Lago di Santa Rosalia'', a reservoir for agricultural use but also used for

recreational fishing Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishing ...

References

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