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, Cypru ...

; 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 mun ...

. 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 300px, Map of the Sea of Crete The Sea of Crete (, ''Kritiko Pelagos''), or Cretan Sea, is a sea, part of the Aegean Sea, located in its southern extremity, with a total surface area of . The sea stretches to the north of the island of Crete, eas ...

, 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.

Geography

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

Apokoronas Apokoronas ( el, Αποκόρωνας) is a municipality and a former province (επαρχία) in the Chania regional unit, north-west Crete, Greece. It is situated on the north coast of Crete, to the east of Chania itself. The seat of the munici ...

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 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 9 ...

, 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 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 prefec ...

'', 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 wh ...

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 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 ...

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 els ...

species of plant and animal. Crete's only freshwater lake,

Lake Kournas Lake Kournas is a lake on the island of Crete, Greece, near the village of Kournas. It is in the Apokoronas municipality of Chania regional unit close to the border with Rethymno regional unit, 47 km from the town of Chania. Kournas is a f ...

, 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 goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...

. 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): *

(2) *

(1) * Gavdos (3) *

Kantanos-Selino Kantanos-Selino ( el, Κάντανος-Σέλινο) is a municipality in Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. It is numbered 4 on the map of the Chania region. The seat of the municipality is the village of Palaiochora. The municipality has an ar ...

(4) * Kissamos (5) * Platanias (6) *

(7)

Prefecture

The Chania prefecture ( el, Νομός Χανίων) 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 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 outsi ...

were: *

Apokoronas Province Apokoronas ( el, Αποκόρωνας) is a municipality and a former province (επαρχία) in the Chania regional unit, north-west Crete, Greece. It is situated on the north coast of Crete, to the east of Chania itself. The seat of the munici ...

- Vamos * Kissamos Province - Kissamos * Kydonia Province - Chania * Selino Province - Kandanos *

Sfakia Province 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 ...

- Chora Sfakion

Communications

* Kydon TV

Notable people

Eleftherios Venizelos Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos ( el, Ελευθέριος Κυριάκου Βενιζέλος, translit=Elefthérios Kyriákou Venizélos, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Greeks, Greek statesman and a prominent leader of the Greek national liberati ...

(1864–1936), prime minister of Greece *

Michael Bletsas Michail Bletsas (born March 19, 1967) is a Greek research scientist and the Director of Computing at the MIT Media Lab. Early life Bletsas was born in Chania, Crete. He studied at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and received a master's de ...

, Director of Computing at the MIT Media Lab *

Angelos Bletsas The House of Angelos (; gr, Ἄγγελος), feminine form Angelina (), plural Angeloi (), was a Byzantine Greek noble lineage which rose to prominence through the marriage of its founder, Constantine Angelos, with Theodora Komnene, the young ...

, 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