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 valley. The Economy was mostly based on agriculture and fruit cultivation. Earthquak ...

by its secondary branch, the Belice Sinistro ("left Belice"), which rises on the slopes of Rocca Busambra. The Belice proper then flows for another or so before entering the Strait of Sicily 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 p ...

archaeological site of Selinunte. 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 which completely destroyed numerous centres of population, including Gibellina,

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. 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