Crati

The Crati is a river in Calabria, southern Italy. It is the largest river of Calabria and the third largest river of Southern Italy after the Volturno and the Sele. In classical antiquity it was known as the Crathis (Greek: Κρᾶθις).

Geography

The Crati rises in the central Sila Mountains in the comune Aprigliano. It starts at as the Craticello at an elevation of 1,742 meters. It descends very steeply northward towards Cosenza where it is joined on the left by the Busento river, doubling in size. From here on it flows through a large plain, the Vallo del Crati. Here it is joined by several tributaries from the right: the Arente, Mucone (its main tributary on the right) and Duglia rivers. Several smaller streams also join it on the right: the Finita, Turbolo, Cucchiato, Campagnano, Mavigliano and Settimo.

With a discharge of 20 m³/s it continues to Tarsia where a dam forms an artificial lake of the same name. From here it changes course to the northeast and meets with the Coscile river approximately five kilometers from the Gulf of Taranto. The Coscile is its main tributary on the left which again doubles the river in size. It continues eastwards, passing immediately south of the archaeological site of Sybaris and Thurii. Its mouth is near the marina of the comune Corigliano Calabro.