Chania (), also spelled Hania, is one of the four regional units of

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

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

Chania Chania (, , ), also sometimes romanization of Greek, romanized as Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno ...

. Chania borders only one other regional unit: that of

Rethymno Rethymno (also Rethymnon; ) 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 35,000 inhabitants (nearly 40,000 for the municipal unit). It is believed to have been built ...

to the east. The western part of Crete is bounded to the north by the Cretan Sea (part of the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

) 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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

and Libyan Sea. The regional unit also includes the southernmost island of Europe, Gavdos.

Geography

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

, and the districts of Platanias and Apokoronas in the north, and Sfakia and Selino in the far south west corner. Other towns in the Chania prefecture include Hora Sfakion, Kissamos, Palaiochora, Maleme, Vryses, Vamos, Georgioupolis and Kalives. The natural park of Samariá Gorge, a tourist attraction and a refuge for the rare Cretan wild goat or '' kri-kri'', is in the South of the regional unit. The White Mountains or Lefka Ori, through which the Samaria, Aradena, Imbros and other gorges run, are the limestone 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 Mt Pachnes, at 2,453 meters above sea level (Crete’s second highest peak). Other prominent peaks are Mt Agkathes (1,511 m) in the eastern Lefka Ori, and Mt Agios Dikaios (1,182 m) in the far west. The regional unit also includes three headlands, known as the "three heads" of Crete. From west to east, they are: Gramvousa peninsula (with a peak of 762 m), Rodopos peninsula, also known as Spatha (with a peak of 749 m), and Akrotiri (with a peak of 523 m). The Apokoronas region also has a prominent peak (527 m). 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 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 bird of pr ...

especially sought for. As an island, Crete has many

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

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 regarde ...

. The lake used to be reportedly full of eels but now is better known for its terrapins and tourists. Tavernas and bicycle rental shops line part of the shore. There are numerous rivers in the Chania region most flowing from the White Mountains to the north coast. These include, from west to east, the Tavronitis, Keritis (Iardanos), Kladissos, Koiliaris, Almiros, Delfinos and Mouselas rivers. 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) * Gavdos (3) * Kantanos-Selino (4) * Kissamos (5) * Platanias (6) * Sfakia (7)

Prefecture

The Chania

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

() was created while Crete was still an autonomous state, 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 an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

were: * Apokoronas Province - Vamos * Kissamos Province - Kissamos * Kydonia Province - Chania * Selino Province - 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 * Constantinos Daskalakis, Assistant Professor at MIT

References

External links

Municipalities of Chania: Δήμοι Νομού Χανίων

Maps

Map of Chania region

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