Aetolia-Acarnania ( Greek : Αιτωλοακαρνανία , Aitoloakarnanía , Greek pronunciation: [etolo.akarnaˈni.a] ) is one of the regional units of Greece . It is part of the geographic region of Central Greece and the administrative region of West Greece . A combination of the historical regions of Aetolia and Acarnania , it is the country's largest regional unit. Its capital is Missolonghi for historical reasons, with its biggest city and economic centre at Agrinio . The area is now connected with the Peloponnese peninsula via the Rio-Antirio Bridge . The surrounding regional units take in Arta in Epirus , a narrow length bordering Karditsa of Thessaly , Evrytania to the northeast, and Phocis to the east.
17-682: Mountains dominate the north, northeast, west and southeast, especially the Acarnanian Mountains . The longest and main river is the Acheloos , which ends as a delta in wetlands to the southwest on a rich fertile valley. The second longest is Evinos ; others include the Ermitsa , the Inachos , and the Mornos (on the border with Phocis). The regional unit excludes the islands lying to its west, since they belong to
34-582: A prefecture and merged to form Aetolia-Acarnania after the Greek War of Independence in the late-1820s; the prefecture included Evrytania at the time, and it ranked second largest in Greece. Evrytania separated from the prefecture in 1948. In the 20th century, ferry services between Rio and the Peloponnese began. and in the 1950s and the 1960s ferry services began to incorporate vehicles. Following World War II and
51-505: A strong winter storm. Spring time weather is pleasant with the occasional cold spell coming from the northeast. The main villages on the Acarnanian Mountains are Monastiraki in the north, Palairos in the northwest, Kandila in the west, Astakos in the south and Katouna in the east. The spring water Korpi is bottled on the northern end of the mountains. Kryoneri, Aetolia-Acarnania Kryoneri ( Greek : Κρυονέρι )
68-423: Is Psili Koryfi ( Greek : Ψηλή Κορυφή , meaning "high peak") at 1589 meters. Directly to the southeast of Psili Koryfi is Boumistos mountain which stands at 1573 meters. Boumistos received its name because of the many lightning strikes that land near the summit. To the west of Boumistos and Psili Korfi is Misovouni which stands at 1338 meters. To the west of Misovouni is Serekas mountain which towers 1171 meters above
85-467: Is a mountain range in the northwestern part of the Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit in western Greece . It stretches from the village Monastiraki, near Vonitsa , in the north to Astakos in the south, with a total length of nearly 40 km. The Ionian Sea lies to the west. The mountains are composed of limestone and are generally barren with the exception of the northern faces. The highest peak
102-609: Is a seaside settlement in the community of Galatas , located about 14 km east from Messolonghi and west of Antirrio in Nafpaktia , Aetolia-Acarnania , Greece . Kryoneri is situated on the northeast coast of the Gulf of Patras and lies next to the Varasova mountain, one of the most popular rock climbing areas in Greece. With the Kapodistrias reform of 1997, Kryoneri became part of
119-518: The Greek Civil War a number of buildings needed to be repaired. A drawbridge linking the island of Lefkada was built in the 1960s. The prefecture's first reservoir, created by the Acheloos Dam over the Acheloos , was under construction in 1967 and completed in the early 1970s, delivering water and hydropower to western part of Greece. Villages were relocated at the time. Two more dams were added,
136-577: The Ionian Sea . On the western foothills of Serekas is the convent of Agios Dimitrios which is run by a few nuns. To the north of Psili Koryfi is Perganti mountain which has a height of 1428 meters. On the summit of Perganti is a radio tower facility which services the region surrounding the Ambracian Gulf . The northernmost rampart of the range is Agriovouni which stands at 563.5 meters. The Acarnanian Mountains harbour several different plant species such as
153-918: The Kefalonia and Ithaca regional units. There is one reservoir and a lake in its central part. The many mountains of the area span the Panaitoliko toward the northeast and the Acarnanian Mountains , the Valtos and the Makrynoros mountains in the north, the Nafpaktia Mountains in the southeast, the Arakynthos and Kravara in the south. Lakes include the Amvrakia , the Lysimachia , Ozeros , and Trichonida , and artificial lakes and reservoirs include Kastraki , Kremasta ,
170-505: The Stratos Hydroelectric Dam in the 1980s and another in the late 1980s. The following years, GR-5 bypassed Messolonghi and Agrinion and GR-38 became connected with paved road with Eurytania and Phthiotida. In the late-1980s, the by-pass of Naupaktos began construction but after paving the road, the signs did not appear and until 1998, it was left unopened. In 1999, the road was re-repaired and finally opened to traffic. In 2000,
187-463: The area receives over 40 inches (1,000 mm) of rain per year. Winter can be cold with snow falling on the higher elevations as early as November and as late as April. January and February are the coldest months with snow falling in the villages that surround the range that are as low as 250 meters. At the village of Monastiraki January temperatures are below freezing on several nights. The highest summits can receive up to 3 feet (0.91 m) of snow in
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#1733085775227204-683: The construction of the Rio-Antirio or the Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge connecting the Peloponnese began construction and was opened to traffic in August 2004. The superhighway, the Ionia Odos (Ionian Motorway) which will run centrally bypassing communities began construction in 2001 at a part between Messolonghi and the curve, this section remains to be unpaved, the rest of the highway is in plan but
221-503: The largest lake in Greece since its creation in 1970, and Stratos . Two lagoons are found in the southern part of the regional unit: the Messolongi and the Aitoliko . The lowest altitude in Greece is found in west Aetolia-Acarnania at about -10 meters from the sea level. Its climate ranges from hot and humid summers, with temperatures often surpassing 40 °C, to mild and short winters in
238-569: The low-lying areas, with cool winters dominating in the mountain areas. At the highest elevations, summers are cool, and snow and cold weather dominate the winter months in the Panaitoliko. During the Ottoman period , between the 16th century until the Greek War of Independence , the region was called Karleli and formed a province ( sanjak ) in the Rumelia Eyalet . Aetolia and Acarnania became
255-487: The oak tree (quercus) and Abies cephalonica . They also form an important area for the conservation of raptors and eagles. The mountains enjoy a wide variety of weather depending on the season. In the summer temperatures can be quite hot as the surrounding region can reach up to 90 °F (32 °C). In the higher elevations, summertime temperatures can drop into the 50s (°F) during the day and even cooler at night. Autumn sees even cooler temperatures with heavy rainfall as
272-428: The opening date is not yet set. A railway formerly served the places from Kryoneri and Agrinio and served with the ferry with Rio . In the 1980s, the service came to an end. The regional unit Aetolia-Acarnania is subdivided into 7 municipalities. These are (number in parentheses corresponds to number in the infobox's map): As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform , the regional unit Aetolia-Acarnania
289-469: Was created out of the former prefecture Aetolia-Acarnania ( Greek : Νομός Αιτωλοακαρνανίας ). The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below. Note: Provinces no longer hold any legal status in Greece . Acarnanian Mountains The Acarnanian Mountains ( Greek : Ακαρνανικά όρη , Akarnanika ori )
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