Gavalou () is a town and a community in the municipal unit of

Makryneia Makryneia () is a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Agrinio, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 149.687 km2. The ...

Aetolia-Acarnania Aetolia-Acarnania (, ''Aitoloakarnanía'', ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the geographic regions of Greece, geographic region of Central Greece (geographic region), Central Greece and the administrative regions of Greece, ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. The community includes the small village Kourtelaiika. The town is located south of

Lake Trichonida Lake Trichonida ( ''Limni Trichonida''; Ancient Greek: Τριχωνίς ''Trichonis'') is the largest natural lake in Greece. It is situated in the eastern part of Aetolia-Acarnania, southeast of the city of Agrinio and northwest of Nafpaktos. It ...

, the largest natural lake of Greece. It is 7 km east of Papadates, 10 km northwest of

Kato Makrinou Kato Makrinou ( meaning "Lower Makrinou") is a village in the municipal unit of Makryneia, Aetolia-Acarnania, Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan pen ...

and 15 km southeast of

Agrinio Agrinio (Greek language, Greek: Αγρίνιο, ; Latin: ''Agrinium'') is the largest city of the Aetolia-Acarnania regional units of Greece, regional unit of Greece and its largest municipality, with 89,691 inhabitants (2021) as well as the seco ...

Population

History

Gavalou may be built at or near the site of the ancient

Aetolia Aetolia () is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania. Geography The Achelous River separates Aetolia from Acarnania to the west; on ...

n town Trichonium, from which the

derived its name. Its position is uncertain. Leake places it S. of the lake at a place called Gavala, and Kiepert, in his map E. of the lake. But since Strabo mentions it along with Stratus as situated in a fertile plain, it ought probably to be placed N. of the lake (Strab. x. p. 450; Pol. v. 7; Steph. B. s. v.). It was evidently a place of importance, and several natives of this town are mentioned in history. (Pol. iv. 3, v. 13, xvii. 10; Paus. ii. 37. § 3; Leake, Northern Greece, vol. i. p. 155.) The Old Aetolia was the seacoast extending from the Achelous to Calydon, reaching for a considerable distance into the interior, which is fertile and level; here in the interior lie Stratus and Trichonium, the latter having excellent soil. A prominent figure was Alexander of Trichonium in Aetolia and he was commander of the Aetolians in 218 and 219 BC. He attacked the rear of the army of Philip on his return from Thermus, but the attempt was unsuccessful, and many Aetolians fell. (Polyb. v. 13)

Climate

Gavalou has a Mediterranean climate with relatively mild winters and particularly hot summers. Gavalou is after

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

the area with the highest average summer maximum temperatures in the country. Like most of Western

it receives a lot of rainfall during the winter and autumn with an average annual precipitation of more than 1.100 mm. In July 2024 Gavalou recorded 14 consecutive days with temperatures over 40 °C (104 °F).

References

{{Makryneia Populated places in Aetolia-Acarnania Agrinio