Alikos

The Alikos or Alykos (Alikos) is a river in Nicosia District, Cyprus, a tributary of the Yialias. The river originates in the Machairas Forest in the Troodos Mountains close to Kapedes and flows northeast across the Mesaoria plain, to Ayios Sozomenos, south east of Nicosia, where is joins the Yialias. The Alikos is only an intermittently flowing river. Near its source the average rainfall is around 52.5 cm (20.7 in) per annum. It has a length of 31.3 km (19.4 mi). At its source there are two streams either side of Kapedes, which flow northwards and unite just north of the village. The stream on the west side is named Argaki tou Syrkanou (stream of Syrkani). This becomes the united stream Galinion which then flows through Analiontas, but just before the village it becomes the Alikos. The Alikos then passes near Margi and reaches Agios Sozomenos. At its beginning the river flows over lavas that form the igneous complex of Troodos, but then continues through sedimentary rocks until reaching the alluvial deposits of the Ayios Sozomenos area and its confluence with the Yialias. Its major tributary is the Almyros, which originates north of Kampia. It flows eastwards past the village of Pera and joins the Alikos north-west of Dali about 6 km (3.7 mi) upstream from its confluence with the Yialias. The length of the Almyros is 21 km (13 mi). It is only intermittently flowing. The lower part of the Alikos and Almyros has been declared a conservation area. It became a Special Protection Area in 2002 and in 2015 became a Natura 2000 Special Area of Conservation. The dominant species along the riverbed is Tamarix smyrnensis, a variety of Tamarix occurring mainly in streams of southern Greece. It is a deciduous small tree or shrub found where the water is brackish. It is extremely resistant to drought and soil salinity. The Greek word for Tamarix is Almyriki, which was associated with the word Almyros by a process of paretymology. Almyros means salty. Salt Cedar is an alternative name for Tamarix in English. Reed beds occur in the Ayios Sozomenos area, where there are also cliffs alongside the river w

Flows through: Cyprus.

River data from Wikidata (CC0); lengths normalised to a common unit.