- Alcantara River
Infobox River | river_name = Alcantara
caption = Map of the Alcantara
origin =Monti Nebrodi (Commune of Floresta,Province of Messina )
elevation = 1,500 m
mouth =Ionian Sea : Capo Schiso (Commune ofGiardini-Naxos , Province of Messina).
basin_countries =Italy
length = 52 km
discharge = 2.41 m³/s
watershed = 573 km² The Alcantara is a river inSicily . It has its source on the south side ofMonti Nebrodi and its mouth in theIonian Sea at Capo Schiso inGiardini-Naxos . The river is 52 km long.The name Alcantara is of Arabic origin ("al Qanţara" - "the Bridge") and refers to a bridge from Roman times found by the
Arabs .Thucydides called it "Akesines Potamos" while its Latin names were ""Assinus" or "Assinos" and ""Onobala"."Cantera" was another hydronym adopted byNormans .Course
The Alcantara has its source at an altitude of 1250m in the municipality of
Floresta . On its way to the sea, past the north ofMount Etna , it flows through the municipalities ofRandazzo ,Mojo Alcantara ,Francavilla di Sicilia ,Motta Camastra ,Castiglione di Sicilia ,Graniti ,Gaggi ,Calatabiano ,Taormina andGiardini-Naxos .Several thousand years ago, the river bed was blocked by a lava flow from
Mount Etna . As thelava was cooled much more quickly by the water than it would have done otherwise, it crystallised in the form of columns. Over the next millennia, the river naturally eroded a channel through these columns, resulting in impressive gorges and ravines such as the "Gole dell'Alcantara ".Alcantara river park
The Alcantara river park ("
Parco fluviale dell'Alcantara ") was established in 2001 for protection of the river, and to encourage its use as a relaxation area and tourist destination.External links
*it icon [http://www.parcoalcantara.it Alcantara river park]
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