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Revision as of 16:53, 29 December 2005
Epirus (Greek: Ήπειρος, Ípiros), is a province or periphery in northwestern Greece. It is bounded by the provinces of West Macedonia and Thessaly to the east, Stereá Elláda (Central Greece) to the south, the Ionian Sea and the Ionian Islands to the west and Albania to the north. The province has an area of about 9,200 km² (3,551 square miles). It is part of the wider historical region of Epirus, which overlaps modern Albania and Greece but now mostly lies in Greek territory.
Local government
Epirus is divided into four prefectures (nomoi), which are further subdivided into dēmoi (municipalities) or koinótētes (roughly equivalent to British or Australian shires).
The prefectures are:
Demographics
Around 350,000 people live in Epirus; the figure, which is rather low for a province of its size, has been significantly constrained by repeated wars in the 20th century as well as mass emigration due to adverse economic conditions. The capital and largest city of the region is Ioannina, where nearly a third of the population lives. The great majority of the population are ethnic Greeks, but the province also includes one of Greece's largest concentrations of Vlachs and Albanians. Greece does not officially recognize minorities other than the Turkish minority in Thrace, therefore it is difficult to estimate the size of the Vlach and Albanian minorities.
Geography and ecology
Greek Epirus, like the region as a whole, is rugged and mountainous. It is largely made up of mountainous ridges, part of the Dinaric Alps, that in places reach 2,650 m. In the east, the Pindus Mountains that form the spine of mainland Greece separate Epirus from Macedonia and Thessaly. Most of Epirus lies on the windward side of the Pindus. The winds from the Ionian Sea offer the region more rainfall than any other part of Greece.
The climate of Epirus is mainly alpine. The vegetation is made up mainly of coniferous species. The animal life is especially rich in this area and includes, among other species, bears, wolves, foxes, deer and lynxes.
Economy
Epirus has few resources or industries and its rugged terrain makes agriculture difficult. Tobacco is grown around Ioannina, and there is also some dairy farming and fishing, but most of the area's food must be imported from more fertile regions of Greece.
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