Sitia Natural or Nature Park (
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
''Φυσικό Πάρκο Σητείας'') is a UNESCO Global
geopark
A geopark is a protected area with internationally significant geology within which Sustainability, sustainable development is sought and which includes tourism, conservation, education and research concerning not just geology but other relevant s ...
located in the east of 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 ...
, in southern
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 park is nearly coterminous with the municipality of
Sitia
Sitia (Latin language, Latin and Italian language, Italian) or Siteia (, ) is a port town and a municipality in Lasithi, Crete, Greece. The town has 11,166 inhabitants and the municipality has 20,438 (2021). It lies east of Agios Nikolaos, Cre ...
. The park, however, is not quite as large. Although the coasts are nearly the same, the overland border of the park does not extend as far to the southwest as the border of the municipality, though roughly parallel to it. The municipality contains the park, except that the naval base at the tip of
Cape Sideros
Cape Sideros or Cape Sidero () is a cape at the eastern end of the island of Crete, Greece. Anciently it was known as Samonium or Samonion (), Sammonium or Sammonion (), Salmonium or Salmonion (Σαλμώνιον) and Salmone (Σαλμώνη). T ...
and the small islands are excluded.
In essence, the park is mountainous, containing the
Sitia Mountains
The Sitia or Siteia Mountains, also known as the Sitiaka Range, are a group of four mountain ranges extending SW-NE in Lasithi in eastern Crete, Greece. Stretching from the southern coast to the plain of the city of Sitia on the northern coast, t ...
and its gorges, as well as the
Coastal Hill Range, East Crete
The Coastal Hill Range, East Crete is a mountain range in Lasithi in eastern Crete, Greece. It trends to the northeast from Xerokampos in the southwest in the direction of Cape Sidero. The range, however is drowned on the eastern slopes by the K ...
. However, much of the
Thripti
Thrypti () is a mountain range in Lasithi in eastern Crete, Greece. It trends to the northeast from Ierapetra in the southwest in the direction of Sitia. However, it only goes half-way in that direction. The rest of the distance is completed by t ...
Mountains of the southwest have been inadvertently excluded. The premier activities offered by the park to the public, in addition to its two centers, is sponsored group spelunking in the extensive cave systems and group hiking over the peaks and gorges of eastern Crete, for those physically able to perform these arduous activities.
Administrative history
Created in 2015 the park is a member of the
European Geoparks Network
The European Geoparks Network (EGN) functions as the regional organization of the Global Geoparks Network (GGN) and the UNESCO International Geosciences and Geoparks Programme (UNESCO-IGGP). Its main objective is to ensure cooperation between geop ...
, which is a regional organization of the
UNESCO Global Geoparks
UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGp) are geoparks certified by the UNESCO Global Geoparks Council as meeting all the requirements for belonging to the Global Geoparks Network (GGN). The GGN is both a network of geoparks and the agency of the United Nati ...
Network.
Geopark management was added to the responsibilities of a governmental agency, the Municipal Organization for Socio-Cultural Development of Sitia (DOKAS, abbreviation of the Greek name).
Put together in 2011 under the Kallikratis program by combination of several smaller agencies, its repertory of managed cultural projects includes others, such as the library and the philharmonic, as well as the geopark.
To the geopark, DOKAS serves as more of a board of directors. The immediate management is entrusted to a committee selected by DOKAS consisting of one member each chosen from 11 interested agencies, not all of them public: Municipality of Sitia, opposition of the Municipality of Sitia, DOKAS, Natural History Museum of Crete, Ephorate of Antiquities, Forestry Directorate, Sitia Development Organization, Sitia Hotel Association, KPE Ierapetra, Holy Monastery of Toplou, Sitia Mountaineering Association.
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See also
Notes
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Citations
External links
Sitia Nature Park
Global Geoparks Network members
Protected areas of Greece
Geography of Crete
Tourist attractions in Crete
Geoparks in Greece