Geographic details

TERRITORIAL BORDERS

The Silan plateau, the dominant element of the Calabrian region, extends over the three provinces of Cosenza Crotone and Catanzaro, for a total land mass of 150,000 hectare[one hectare = 10,000 square meters].It is divided in three zones,more for convenience than for structural distinction,from north to south, respectively defined Sila Greca, Sila Grande and Sila Piccola. The first begins in the northern territories at the mauntanous spurs that jot out from the coastal valleys and has its southern borders in the valleys of Mucone and Trionto. The Sila Grande, considered the heart of the plateau,borders in the south at the basin of the Savuto river and lake Ampollino, while its western boundaries include the peaks of the mountains Sorbello, Timpone Bruno, Curcio and Seuro and, to the east, the valleys of Carga and Arvo, and the mountains of Porcina and Carrumango. Finally , the Sila Piccola, whose northern borders are defined by the Savuto and the Ampollino, while the river Tacina delineates its eastern borders and the mountains Mancuso and Reventino, the western borders.

PRINCIPAL HYDRO-ELECTRIC CHARACTERISTICS

From a geological perspective, the origin of the Sila is very different from that of the coastal mountain chain due to different and much older orogenetic processes of almost seven million years. In the plateau we find strata of rocks of metamorphic composition, frequently associated to gneiss, magmatic rocks, metamorphic magmatic plates, conglomerates and limestone with flint and marl. The erosion processes which gave rise to these rock formations are attributed as much to chemical interaction such as the process of solubility caused by acid rain as to the abrasive action of glaciers whose melting created considerable deposits of detritus.

The internal areas of the plateau and those on the periphery contain an abundance of hydro systems such as lakes , rivers and streams.The lakes are located in the Sila Grande, at the bottom of valleys of quaternary age, and are all artificial basins. LAKE CECITA is the largest[ situated in the National Park of LA SILA], followed by Lake Arvo and Ampollino. The Volturino and Ariamacina are bodies of water of minor importance.

Regarding the many rivers, two of the most important of the Sila and of the entire Calabrian peninsula, originate in the chain of mountains dominated by the peak of Botte Donato. The Crati delimits the north western borders of the plateau and, making a large loop, flows into the valley of Sibari. The Neto,flowing eastward, enters the Ionian sea after being joined by the waters of Vitravo. The Mucone is also an affluent of the Crati, while the Trionto[ which together with the Mucone, delimit the borders of the Sila Greca and Sila Grande], meandering through the valley of the Sila Greca, flows northward into the gulf of Corigliano.

To the south, we find the rivers Tacina and Crocchio who originate in the Sila Piccola. They mainly flow through the southern spurs and, crossing the region of Marchesato, flow into the gulf of Squillace joined by the river Corace, who enters the gulf further south.