Ioannina (regional unit)

The Regional District of Ioannina (Greek Periferiaki Enotita Ioanninon; Albanian Qarku i Janine ) is the largest of the four regional districts of the Greek region of Epirus with its administrative seat of Ioannina. From 1915 until the Greek administrative reform of 2010, the area had divided the status of a prefecture, whose powers were on the region and the numerically much reduced communities. With 24 of 51 Abegeordneten provides regional district in the Ioannina regional almost half the seats in Epirus Regional Council, but does not have a political significance as a local authority. It is divided into the communities of Dodona, Ioannina, Konitsa, Metsovo, Pogoni, Voria Tzoumerka, Zagori Zitsa.

Geography

The Regional District of Ioannina forms the northeastern part of the Epirus region, its area is about the ancient landscape Molossis.

The landscape is dominated by the running in a north-south direction of the mountain chains of the Pindos Mountains. The central part occupies a plane around the Pamvotida Lake, located at the western bank of the city of Ioannina.

The north of the region borders with Albania. In addition to there withdrawing from Albania to south-southeast mountain ranges of the Pindos Mountains, the valley of the east-west ( then to the northwest ) flowing river Aoös ( Vjosa ) forms a prominent point of the landscape. The flora and fauna of both the mountains and the river valleys is relatively unaffected; itself bears are still to be found here in the wild. In the northeastern part of the regional district is the Grammos massif, east of it, the Arena mountains. Only by extending in an arc from east to south river Sarandaporos these mountain ranges from the second highest mountain in Greece, the Smolikas 2.637 m above sea level. inst separately. South of Smolikas closes separated by the Oberlauftal of Aoös the massif of Tymfi at ( 2.295 m above sea level. Inst ). The Tymfi massif is partly cut from the river Voidomatis, thus increasing the Vikos Gorge with up to 1,000 m high rock walls forms. This is the core of the Vikos - Aoos National Park. Northwest of the mountain ranges, the valley of the Aoös expands initially by the inflow of Sarandaporos at Konitsa ( directly on the mountain as Trapezitsa southwest corner of Smolikas massif located ), then by the inflow of Voidomatis at Papingo on. At the same time it swings off to north-northwest and runs with the Aoös across the border into Albania, where the Aoös ( Vjosa ) empties into the Ionian Sea. Southwest of Tymfi and southwest of Papingo the mountain chain of the Mitsikeli rises, which forms the eastern boundary of the plain of Ioannina, simultaneously listened to the western North Pindos. The region south of the Aoös and east and the Sarandaporos with the massifs of Tymfi and Smolikas is called Zagoria.

The western boundary of the Zagoria region is the mountain range of Mitsikeli and its southern continuation, the Driskos. The southern boundary of the Zagoria region is approximately the flow Metsovitikos. This arises near Metsovo in the eastern part of the Regional District of Ioannina and leads through a narrow valley north of Lakmos ( Peristeri ) to the southwest. At the interface between Mitsikeli and Driskos ( Driskos pass ) the Metsovitikos flows together with the river Dipotamia and forms the further south-southeast running river Arachthos. To the east of the confluence forms the Lakmos massif with the seamless adjacent Kakarditsa solid continuation of the Pindos Mountains to the southeast, while the southeastern portion of Ioannina. The east of the regional district is sparsely populated, with the exception of the area around the village of Metsovo. To the north of Metsovo rises on a high plateau, the river Aoös whose source area is clearly transformed by the reservoir O Pigon. South of Metsovo on the eastern flank of the Lakmos arises with the Aspropotamos the largest river of Greece, the Achelous. East of Metsovo is found with the Katarra Pass ( Zygos pass) to 1,689 m above sea level a crossing of the Pindos massif in the north-western part of Thessaly to Kalambaka.

The Arachthos and the valley leading to the southern part of the area. This is flanked to the east by the continuation of Lakmos, the Tzoumerka massif with 2,459 m above sea level. inst maximum height. The Tzoumerka massif separates the watersheds of Achelous in the east and in the west Arachthos. The Arachthos flows in a southerly direction to Arta, where it is impounded in the further course before Arta to a large reservoir. Parallel to the valley of Arachthos and with the same flow direction south rises the level of Ioannina, the river Louros on the eastern flank of the Tomaros. The valley of the Louros leads as that of Arachthos south to Ambracian golf. At the end of the valley of the Louros in the plane around the Ambracian golf there is also the southern boundary of the Regional District of Ioannina towards the regional district of Arta. West towards the mountains ( the mountains south - Souliou the Thesprotika Mountains, west ) from Ioannina bordered to the west of the Louros Valley to the regional districts of Preveza and Thesprotia out. Between the mountains and the Souliou Tomaros Massif southwest of Ioannina there is a small plateau. This is bounded to the northeast by the level of Dodona by the Tomaros massif. North of the level of Dodona with the same ancient oracle, the northern extensions of the Souliou mountains run almost seamlessly into the Tsamantas Mountains in the northwest of Ioannina on the Albanian border over. Durchbrochen these mountains only through the valley of Kalamos ( Thyamis ), which runs from Tymfi and Mitsikeli the east by the north-western part of the Regional District to the west by Thesprotia to the Ionian sea.