Corinthia

Corinthia (Greek: Κορινθία, Korinthía) is the area around the city of Corinth, located in the north-eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is a prefecture of Greece, part of the periphery of Peloponnese. It is bounded by Achaia to the west and southwest, the Gulf of Corinth and Attica to the north, the Saronic Gulf to the east and Argolis and Arcadia to the south.

Corinthia is the fourth most populated prefecture on the Peloponnese peninsula and the second largest in the periphery since the 1980s when it surpassed the neighboring Arcadia's population. Currently (2001 census) the population stands at 144,527 inhabitants, while the 1991 figures showed a population of 132,139.

The Corinth Canal, carrying ship traffic between the Ionian and the Aegean seas, is about 4 km east of Corinth, cutting through the Isthmus of Corinth. The prefecture is increasingly seen as part of the wider metropolitan area of Athens, with municipalities, such as Agioi Theodoroi in the easternmost part of Corinthia, being considered suburbs of Athens.

The area around Corinth and the western Saronic including the southeastern part are made up of fault lines including the Corinth Fault, the Poseidon Fault and a fault running from Perahcora to Agioi Theodoroi. More faults are near Kiras Vrysi and Sofiko.

Communities and municipal districts
See also: List of settlements in the Korinthia prefecture

Towns of significance

 * Corinth (Gr. Κόρινθος) pop. 1991: 28,071 - 2001: 30,434
 * Loutraki (Λουτράκι) pop. 1991: 8,876 - 2001: 10,673
 * Kiato (Κιάτο) pop. 1991: 9,212 - 2001: 9,655
 * Xylokastro (Ξυλόκαστρο) pop. 1991: 5,633 - 2001: 5,173
 * Agioi Theodoroi (Άγιοι Θεόδωροι) pop. 1991: 3,550 - 2001: 4,963
 * Zevgolatio (Ζευγολατείο) pop. 1991: 3,604 - 2001: 4,119
 * Nemea (Νεμέα) pop. 1991: 4,001 - 2001: 4,078
 * Lechaio (Λέχαιο) pop. 1991: 2,276 - 2001: 3,726
 * Velo (Βέλο) pop. 1991: 3,179 - 2001: 3,017
 * Vrahati (Βραχάτι)pop. 1991: 2,224 - 2001: 2,656
 * Assos (Άσσος) pop. 1991: 1,858 - 2001: 2,372

History
From 1833 to 1899, it included Argolis and was known as Argolidocorinthia and included Hydra, Spetses and Kythira. Argolis joined Corinthia to re-form Argolidocorinthia again in 1909. Forty years later, in 1949, the prefecture was finally separated from Argolis, then Argolidocorinthia.

The highway was first paved in the 19th to the 20th century. The mid to late-20th century saw the population shifting from agriculture to other jobs as people moved to larger towns and cities as well as other parts of the world. In the 1960s, a superhighway was constructed to handle the increasing traffic between Corinth and Athens and allow higher speed limits (60 km/h to 80 km/h). This highway consists of the GR-8A, partly E65 and E94 and is tolled. The section from the old Corinth interchange eastward in Korinthia was opened in 1962 and the section west of Korinthia was added in 1969. The new highway had a significant effect on the prefecture's industry, as it lowered the cost of transportation of goods between Korinthia and the Athens metropolitan area.

In late 2006, the prefect of Corinthia announced the construction of a new dam located 5 to 7 km south of Kiato and Sicyon, near Stimanika, over the Elissos River. It will become the second largest body of water (lakes, reservoirs) in the prefecture and also the first prefecture in the Peloponnese peninsula to built a reservoir. The dam will be designed to withstand earthquakes and natural disasters including flooding.

On Tuesday July 17, 2007, a forest fire struck the area around the historic Acrocorinth and its castle. It started on a slope near Acrocorinth and the fires spread quickly enough to burn a large number of Greek Fir, pine and cypress trees in the surrounding area and reach the new GR-7 (E65) superhighway, causing traffic to be rerouted. It took a significant number of firefighters, fire trucks, two helicopters and a few planes to contain and stop the blaze from spreading. The fire was finally put out the next day. On July 19 however, two more fires started near Chiliomodi and Mapsos. They started in the late afternoon hours and burnt several forests and groves during the night.

Geography
The northern areas and the eastern coast of the prefecture are made up of pasture lands and farmlands where olives, grapes, tomatoes and vegetables are cultivated. The rest of prefecture is dominated by mountains. Its tallest mountain is Kyllini to its west and the largest lake is Lake Stymphalus situated in the southwest. The reservoir will become one of the largest lakes after its completion.

Climate
The climate of Corinthia consists of hot summers and mild winters at the coastal areas and somewhat more cold winters with occasional snowfalls at the mountain areas.

Economy
The main sources of income are goods and services, manufacturing, tourism and agriculture.

Transport
The area are connected by highways:


 * E65, and with GR-8 to the boundary west of Derveni
 * Greek National Road 7
 * Greek National Road 8
 * Greek National Road 8A/E94 from Corinth to the boundary.
 * Greek National Road 66

Communications

 * Top Channel - Corinth

Culture
Famous attractions include the Ancient Corinth and its acropolis, Acrocorinth, thermal springs of Loutraki, the Corinth Canal, Nemea and the Heraion of Perachora.