Kourtaliotiko Gorge EarthCache

At the given coordinates, you are standing above the Kourtaliotiko Gorge. There is a specific point on the gorge, about 20 metres from the northern entrance, where you can hear some "claps", like hands coming together. These "claps" are the "kourtala", that give the name to the gorge. They are the consequence of the wind being funnelled through the high caves of the gorge and breaking the sound barrier.

The point near the northern entrance is the main point to hear that sound. You can also walk down the stairs and pay the old ruined church down in the gorge a visit!

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The geological upheavals of the early Miocene, 25 million years ago, led to the emergence from the sea of Aegeis, a continuous stretch of land which linked south-east Europe and Asia Minor. In the middle Miocene, Aegeis had high mountains and also dips filled with water. The flora grew to such an extent that by the late Miocene (14 million years ago) Aegeis was inhabited by large herbivorous mammals. In the late Tertiary (10 million years ago) the waters of the Mediterranean began to inundate Aegeis, forming the islands of the Aegean and Crete. Eight million years ago Crete was already surrounded by water.


In the Pliocene epoch (1-3 million years ago) there was a constant process of rise and fall of land, and a deep tectonic rift was created in the Cretan sea, approximately in the same position as it is today.

Geological upheavals in the area once occupied by Aegeis continued throughout the Pleistocene (1 million to 25.000 years ago) in which there were successive warm and cool periods caused by the gradual spreading and retreat of the glaciers. As a result, the level of the sea rose and fell, creating bridges between Crete and the adjacent lands over which the island was colonised by animal and plant species.


Today, southern Crete is 3.65 metres higher than the north of the island. The line of the former sea level can be seen clearly in the cliffs along the south coast. Scientists believe that these upheavals were caused by the pressure which the African tectonic plate exerts on the European plate.

The Kourtaliotiko gorge, and the other gorges of the area, were created during the Quaternary period. The dolomite beds of which the rock formations of the area are composed have been fractured by a variety of factors (glacial action, karstic phenomena etc.).
(Source: www.west-crete.gr, www.wikipedia.gr)

Now the questions:

1. Are the pebbles on the ground the same color as the surrounding mountains? Is there a difference?

2. Describe the surface of the gorge walls.

3. Do the mountain walls have the same color in the whole place, or does the color change? What kind of stones do you encounter, when you walk to the bottom of the gorge?

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