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Morphology
Psiloritis differs from the other mountains of Crete. It is a long and narrow mountain and its few high tops seem like breaking the sky. There are five mountain tops more than 2000 meters with "Timios Stavros" reaching the 2456 meters. All around, there are lower tops, almost covered with winter snow weaving a garland that surrounds the main mountain chain. Skinakas with the homonymous observatory, Koudouni, Mavri, Kourouna, Spathi, Chabatha and Chalasokefala are some tops that reach the 2000 meters. Between them spread coombs, gorges and plateaus. The plateau of Nida as well as Idaion Andron, the cave that according to the mythology Zeus grew up is well known. Equally beautiful and impressive is Evdomos above Gonies of Malevizi and Livadi at the mountainous side of Krousonas as well as the smaller caves of Kserolimni and Vroulidia in Anogia. Depending on the approaching side, the appearance of the mountain at the lowest parts is dramatically different. The northern and western side of the mountain is put down in various levels, where the feeding grounds of north Mylopotamos start and then, the mountain’s well known dorps. The southern and eastern side of the mountain, however, seems wilder and abrupt. From the mountain tops start vertical cliffs that reach the lowland of Heraklion and Mesara or end up to the valley of Amari. The first dorps are hooked on the roots of the cliff to benefit from the feeding grounds and the low land but mostly from the waters of the fountains or the flumes. The gorges are the easiest roads for the mountain tops and the paths that cross them are there since the Minoan years. The nature of the rocks does not let the water of the rain to form big flumes or rivers. The biggest rivers cross the small valleys of the area such as Geropotamos that starts from the north glacis of Psiloritis and crosses the basin of Mylopotamos ending up to the sea or Amarianos that dewaters the basin of Amari ending up to the river of Plati at the south, Koutsolidis that starts from the forest of Rouvas and ends up to the Dam of Faneromeni as well as Litheos that starts from Amourgeles and ends up to ancient Gortina.
