River Almiros

The River Almiros (known as Delphina) carries the waters of Lake Kourna to the Cretan Sea.

The river’s waters continuously feed sources, swamps and streams. Reeds, wet meadows and riparian forests are formed along the River Almiros, but its estuaries have suffered a major blow because of residential building. Despite, however, the continued expansion of the village of Georgioupolis near the marshes, the region remains important for migratory birds.

River Almiros flows into Kalyvaki Beach, which is located west of the port of Georgioupolis, 37 km east of Chania. Because of the waters of the River Almiros, the sea on this beautiful sandy beach is frozen.

The mass of water of Lake Kourna in summer reaches 7.5 million cubic meters and for this reason the River Almiros has water all year round.

The lake is fed by two underground springs and surface runoff, while the source Mati or Amati is visible in the receding of waters of the lake during the summer months.