Parnon or Parnonas () or Malevos (Μαλεβός) is a mountain range, or massif, on the east of the

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia (, , ) is a historical and Administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti (municipality), Sparta. The word ...

n plain and the

Evrotas Valley The Evrotas Valley is an 82 km elongated valley between Taygetus and Parnon which traverses Laconia, Greece. Homer called the valley Kili Lakedemon, while Sparta, Mystras and Gytheio are the main cities within the valley. It is one of the larg ...

. It is visible 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 ...

above the top of the Argive mountains. The western part is in the

prefecture and the northeastern part is in the Arcadia prefecture. The Parnon range separates

from Arcadia. Its summit offers panoramic views of southeastern Arcadia and South Kynouria and much of

that includes the northern and the central portions and reaches as far as the Taygetos mountains. It also views a part of the central Arcadia and the southern

Argolis Argolis or Argolida ( , ; , in ancient Greek and Katharevousa) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, situated in the eastern part of the Peloponnese penin ...

prefectures. It views the Myrtoan and the

Laconian Gulf The Laconian Gulf (), is a gulf in the south-eastern Peloponnese, in Greece. It is the southernmost gulf in Greece and the largest in the Peloponnese. In the shape of an inverted "U", it is approximately wide east to west, and long north to so ...

Geography

Physical

The Parnon Massif is divided into three parts.Unless otherwise cited this section relies heavily on The northernmost, which is the highest, runs from just north of

Ano Doliana Ano Doliana (Ano meaning "upper", , ) is a stone-built mountainous village in the municipality of North Kynouria, in eastern Arcadia (regional unit), Arcadia, Greece. As of 2021 it had 62 inhabitants. It is a protected List of traditional settleme ...

in North Kynouria, eastern Arcadia, southeast to Platanaki Pass. Platanaki, ancient Glyppia, is on the ancient route from Therapnes to South Kynouria between the peaks of Parnon, , and Psaris, . Altitudes on the north rise from to increasing toward the peak to to with a tree line at . Below it are forests of Black Pine and fir; above it, grasslands. Between the pass and Kounoupia to the south is of central Parnon, lower in altitude than the northern. The remaining , even lower in altitude but still mountainous, runs from Kounouria to the sea at Epidaurus Limera, which is in

Monemvasia Monemvasia (, or ) is a town and municipality in Laconia, Greece. The town is located in mainland Greece on a tied island off the east coast of the Peloponnese, surrounded by the Myrtoan Sea. Monemvasia is connected to the rest of the mainland by a ...

. Parnon proper does not extend into the Malea Peninsula. In addition to the range of Parnon, two forelands can also be defined, east and west. Kynouria is located in the east foreland. In the west two lengths can be distinguished: from the northern flank of Parnon to Gkoritsa in Therapnes (on the road to Platanaki Pass), which is to , and southward into the Malea Peninsula, to wide.

Political

The nearest places are: *

, north * Agios Petros, north *

Kastanitsa Kastanitsa (, Tsakonian language, Tsakonian: Γαστένιτσα) is a village in Arcadia (regional unit), Arcadia in Greece, on the southern slope of Parnon, Mount Parnon. It is considered a List of traditional settlements of Greece, traditional ...

, northeast * Agios Vasileios, east * Platanaki, east * Palaiochori, east * Kosmas, southeast * Geraki, south *

Kallithea Kallithea (Greek language, Greek: Καλλιθέα, meaning "beautiful view") is a suburb in Athens#Athens Urban Area, Athens agglomeration and a municipality in South Athens (regional unit), south Athens regional unit. It is the eighth larges ...

, southwest * Vamvakou, west

Geology

The Parnon range is predominantly

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

. The

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

is home to the fifth deepest

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

in Greece, the Peleta Sinkhole (depth as of 2006 is -543 m) and the impressive vertical cave Propantes (-360m).

References

External links