For the creation of all the RAGiF (Routaki’s Audio Guide info Files) an enormous amount of research was done. This resulted in up to 300.000 words of information divided into several subjects. On this page you’ll find in the diversity of categories the links to the Geographical facts pages were you can read the whole (or basic) story for the information that is given to you in audio form when you drive one of the routes of Routaki.
Crete the most southern island of Greece; geographical a very interesting island.
Crete is a long strip of land which, from East to West, borders about 260 km of Europe. With its surface of 8.261 km2, Crete is the largest greek island and the 5th largest in the Mediterranean Sea. Read more about Crete in general.
Crete has a coastline of a bit more than 1.000 km. It’s the Southern closure of the Aegean Sea, where the waters above Crete are called the Cretan Sea (Greek: Κρητικό Πέλαγος). Read more about the seas around Crete.
The most eastern mountain chain on the island of Crete is the one of the Dikti highlands. The mountain range is especially known for the Lassithi plateau which is situated on it. Read more about the Dikti mountains on the eastern part of Crete.
Crete consists a big part of lime stone. This type of stone is very porous and easily lets water through, what causes so called karst symptoms. The water dissolves the lime stone and so caves, underground rivers and lakes are created. – Read more about the landscape and the earthquakes. –
Crete does not have rivers that you can sail along. For a significant part, Crete consists of lime stone that lets water through easily which causes the so called ‘karst’ symptoms. Read more about the landscape and stone type.
On the South coast, in contrast with the North coast, the landscape is a lot tougher. In a way it seems like the mountains crash in the sea, making it easier for gorges to form. Read more about the some gorges on Crete.
The Messara area is a fertile flantland which is protected by mountain ranges on three sides; on the North side by the Ida highlands, on the East side by the Dikti highlands and on the South side by the Asterousia highlands. Read more about the Messara plateau.
Around 1900 Heraklion only counted about 12.000 inhabitants. The city started expanding in 1923 when large groups of Greeks were chased away from Turkey and settled on Crete. Nowadays the city counts about 150.000 inhabitants. Read more about the capital of the island.
The name can be traced back to ancient times when the city was called Rithymna, coming from the ancient Greek word for dolphin: Rithy. On the armor of Rethymno you can still see two dolphins which have become the symbol of this lively town.
Read more about the third biggest city of the island.
Agia Varvara owes its name to the church that is situated in the middle. The church is also considered to be the geographic centre of Crete. The square in front of the church is therefore also called ‘the navel of Crete’. Read more about the region of Agia Varvara.
The lake is in a beautiful landscape lying in a valley among the hills about 4 km from Georgioupolis in Chania prefecture. It is relatively small with a maximum length of 1.087 m and a maximum breadth of 880 m. Read more about the freh water lake of Kournas.
The touristic attraction of Agios Nicolaos is the former lake of Voulismeni in the heart of the city. The lake is 64 metres deep and is also called ‘the lake without a bottom’.
Read more about Agios Nicolaos, the capital city of the prefecture Lassithi.
Ierápetra is the most southerly situated city of Greece. The cultivation of cucumbers and tomatoes influences the rhythm of life of the approximately 8500 inhabitants of this city. Read more about Ierapetra and farmer Paul Kuipers.