Vale of Tempe

Vale of Tempe
Κοιλάδα των Τεμπών
View of the Pineios River gorge.
Vale of Tempe Κοιλάδα των Τεμπών is located in Greece
Vale of Tempe Κοιλάδα των Τεμπών
Vale of Tempe
Κοιλάδα των Τεμπών
Floor elevationapprox. 267 metres (876 ft)
Length12.4 kilometres (7.7 mi)
Width0.7 to 1.5 kilometres (0.43 to 0.93 mi)
Geography
Coordinates39°52′37″N 22°33′58″E / 39.877°N 22.566°E / 39.877; 22.566
RiversPineios River

The Vale of Tempe (/ˈtɛmpi/;[1] Greek: Κοιλάδα των Τεμπών; Ancient Greek: Τέμπεα, Τέμπη[2]) is a gorge in the Tempi municipality of northern Thessaly, Greece, located between Olympus to the north and Ossa to the south, and between the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia. The gorge was known to the Byzantines as Λυκόστομο (Wolf's Throat) and was called simply Boğaz (Gorge) by the Turks.[3]

In the Greek municipality of Tempi, the valley is ten kilometers long and as narrow as 25 metres in places, with cliffs nearly 500 metres high. Through it flows the Pineios River on its way to the Aegean Sea. Historically the gorge has provided a strategic route through the mountains and its impressive rugged beauty has been poetically renowned.