Δέλτα Αξιού / Λουδία / Αλιάκμον @ Κόλπο Θερμαικού Θεσσ/νίκη 2012

Rivers, Wetlands and Thermaikos Gulf
Axios, Loudias and Aliakmonas rivers irrigate the second-largest plain of Greece and they form one of the largest wetland ecosystem.
http://www.axiosdelta.gr/ProtectedArea/RiversLagoons/tabid/465/language/en-GB…

Aliakmonas is the biggest in length river of Greece. It springs from Grammos and Voio mountains and after travelling for 350 km it flows into the Thermaikos gulf. The flow of the river is regulated by an artificial lake created by a regulatory barrier which receives water from three hydropower dams.

Axios River

Axios is the second longest river in Greece with a total length of 320 km, of which 76 km are in Greece. It springs from F.Y.R.O.M, but also from the mountain Varnouda in the prefecture of Florina, and discharges into Thermaikos Gulf. Around 95% of the river basin belongs to F.Y.R.O.M. In the beginning of 20th century the estuaries of Axios river were few kilometers southwest of Thessaloniki, threatening to cut the access to the sea port because of the continuous deposition brought to Thermaikos Gulf. The river bed has shifted with technical works in the place that is found today.

Loudias River and the Lake of Giannitsa

Loudias River has a total length of 39 km and an average flow of 20 cubic meters / second. It is an artificial channel that was created early 30s when the work of desiccation the Lake of Giannitsa (or “Lake Loudia”) was completed.

Lake Loudia was originally a saltish lake, but over the centuries has turned into a marsh of freshwater while it received the water from rivers that drain the mountain arc of Pella (Voras, Jena, Pinovo) and the northern mountain Vermio.

Nowadays Loudias is no longer a natural river but a drainage channel designed to carry water from the drainage network of the former Lake of Giannitsa to Thermaikos Gulf.