Skip to content
EntityQ24358· pop 21· linked from 33 articles

Also known as Imera Meridionale, Salso River, Himera river (south)

The Salso (Sicilian: Salsu/Sarsu), also known as the Imera Meridionale (Greek: Ἱμέρας; Latin: Himera), is a river in Sicily, Italy. It rises in the Madonie Mountains (Sicilian: Munti Madunìi; Latin: Nebrodes Mons) and, traversing the provinces of Enna and Caltanissetta, flows into the Mediterranean at the western end of the Gulf of Gela at the seaport of Licata, in the province of Agrigento. Its small deltaic system there is dominated by marine processes rather than fluvial ones. It is a seasonal torrent, with brief but violent floods during the winter rains (from November to February), and al

Key facts

River.name
Salso
River.mouth
Mediterranean Sea
River.subdivision_type1
Sicily
River.subdivision_name1
Italy
River.map
Imera-meridionale-map-bjs.jpg

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Image
Ponte Besaro.jpg
Length
144
Show 3 more facts
Commons category
Imera meridionale River
watershed area
2122
discharge
5.1
Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~6 min read

Article

2 sections
Contents
  • Historical significance
  • Notes and references

The Salso (Sicilian: Salsu/Sarsu), also known as the Imera Meridionale (Greek: Ἱμέρας; Latin: Himera), is a river in Sicily, Italy. It rises in the Madonie Mountains (Sicilian: Munti Madunìi; Latin: Nebrodes Mons) and, traversing the provinces of Enna and Caltanissetta, flows into the Mediterranean at the western end of the Gulf of Gela at the seaport of Licata, in the province of Agrigento. Its small deltaic system there is dominated by marine processes rather than fluvial ones. It is a seasonal torrent, with brief but violent floods during the winter rains (from November to February), and all but dry in summer droughts. In November 1915 the iron bridge across the river's mouth collapsed during floods, and 119 people were swept away in the flood and lost. The Salso, which is the longest river of Sicily at , has a drainage basin area of .

The river's historically changeable meanders across the low coastal plain have been artificially channeled into the Canale di Sicilia, and the marshes drained for agriculture. Until the late nineteenth century it had two distributary channels, the second debouching to the west. The mouth of the Salso has been advancing during historical times, and wind and wave formerly distributed its sand and silt to the beaches of the Gulf of Gela.

On the map

2 mapped locations

Connections

Categories