Kythira Strait (also Kythirian Straits, Kythira–

Antikythira Antikythera ( , ; , ) or Anticythera, known in antiquity as Aigilia (), is a Greek island lying on the edge of the Aegean Sea, between Crete and Peloponnese. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality of Kythira i ...

Strait or Kithera Channel) is a

waterway A waterway is any Navigability, navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other ways. A first distinction is ...

off

Kythira Kythira ( ; ), also transliterated as Cythera, Kythera and Kithira, is an island in Greece lying opposite the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is traditionally listed as one of the seven main Ionian Islands, although it is dist ...

Southern Greece Southern Greece () is a loosely defined geographical term, usually encompassing the Peloponnese peninsula and varying parts of Continental Greece (Attica is usually included), as well as the islands of the Cyclades, the Dodecanese, and Crete. I ...

. The Kythira–

Strait is situated within the Western

Hellenic arc The Hellenic arc or Aegean arc is an arcuate mountain chain of the southern Aegean Sea located on the southern margin of the Aegean Sea plate. Geologically it results from the subduction of the African plate under it along the Hellenic subduc ...

. It measures approximately in length and is situated between the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

and the island 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 ...

. Many ships have sunk in the area, including , , and .

Navigational hazard

The Kythira Strait represents one of the most dangerous navigational hazards in the Mediterranean. The strait between Kythera and

Cape Maleas Cape Maleas (also ''Cape Malea''; , colloquially Καβομαλιάς, ''Cavomaliás''), anciently Malea () and Maleae or Maleai (Μαλέαι), is a peninsula and cape in the southeast of the Peloponnese in Greece. To distinguish it from the ca ...

was found dangerous in ancient days by the Greek mariners. Most sea-traffic from

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, and the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

to the central and western Mediterranean passes through the strait and are often subject to strong winds and shipwreck on Cape Maleas. To circumvent this, the shorter and safer route via the

Isthmus of Corinth The Isthmus of Corinth ( Greek: Ισθμός της Κορίνθου) is the narrow land bridge which connects the Peloponnese peninsula with the rest of the mainland of Greece, near the city of Corinth. The wide Isthmus was known in the a ...

has been used since

classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

, first through the use of the overland

Diolkos The Diolkos (, from the Greek , "across", and , "portage machine") was a paved trackway near Corinth in Ancient Greece which enabled boats to be moved overland across the Isthmus of Corinth. The shortcut allowed ancient vessels to avoid the ...

pathway and in modern times, through the

Corinth Canal The Corinth Canal () is a canal in Greece that connects the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. Completed in 1893, it cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and "separates" the Peloponnese peninsula fro ...

Earthquakes and tsunami

The Kythira Strait, located within the Western Hellenic arc, is subject to submergence on account of normal faulting which results in "extensional deformation and rotation" between two major segments of the external arc. According to Papadopoulos and Kijko, the Western Hellenic arc has high seismic activity, resulting in deformations in the strait which are active. Here the "seismic slip" recorded is on the order of 0.3 cm/year. Also reported in the strait are earthquakes at shallow and intermediate depths, with surface-wave magnitudes of up to 8.0. The Kythira Strait's Tsunami Warning System (TWS) comprises two interrelated elements. One is based on the seismographic observations and the other is related to tide-gauge recordings.

References

Bibliography

* * * It is considered to be a "dextral wrench zone". * * {{coord, 35, 50, 34, N, 23, 13, 57, E, display=title Kythira Straits of Greece Landforms of Crete Landforms of Islands (regional unit) Landforms of Attica