The island of Kythera spans a total of 284 km2. The island has a length of 29 km and a width of 18 km. The geotectonic unities which form the island of Kythera also appear in Macedonia, Thessalia, Sterea Hellas, Peloponnese and Crete. The island is mountainous, with bold coasts and one pond at the Eastern part of the island. Kythera belongs to the Alpine orogeny and, in specific, to the Southern branch of the Tithia orogeny (Papanikolaou, 1986). The Southern branch of the orogeny of Tithia includes the Apennines, the Southern Alps, the Dinaric, the Taurid, the Iranides and follows parts of other mountain chains through the Himalayas.
Kythera consists of geological formations which belong to the following geotectonic unities: the Arna unity, the Tripolis unity and the Pindos unity, while the Eastern part of the island is covered by neogenic layers.
Geological map of Kythera (Institute for Geological Studies 2001)
The springs of Kythera
The island of Kythera holds many natural springs, most of which lie centrally and in the Northern part. Most of those in the Northern part are ferrous (containing iron). The most important are located in Mylopotamos, Mitata, Viaradika, Gonies, Kria Vrissi, Peratis, Oheles, Petrouni and Karavas.
