[Ian Williams]

Well all the snow has gone from my list of Capitals and not many frosts, Tirana of Albania only sporadic reporting at the moment so no data for yesterday. Fairly dry too with Valletta being the wettest in this list with 3.4 mm


Samos
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Samos (disambiguation).

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Samos Περιφερειακή ενότητα / Δήμος Σάμου
— Regional unit —
Vathy, capital of Samos
Samos within the North Aegean
Coordinates: 37°45′N 26°50′ECoordinates: 37°45′N 26°50′E
Country	Greece
Region	North Aegean
Capital	Vathy
Area
• Total	477.4 km2 (184.3 sq mi)
Population (2001)
• Total	33,814
• Density	71/km2 (180/sq mi)
Postal codes	931 xx
Area codes	2273
Car plates	MO
Website	www.samos.gr

Samos (Greek: Σάμος) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of Asia Minor, from which it is separated by the 1.6 kilometres (0.99 mi)-wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate regional unit of the North Aegean region, and the only municipality of the regional unit.

In ancient times Samos was a particularly rich and powerful city-state. It is home to Pythagoreion and the Heraion of Samos, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that includes the Eupalinian aqueduct, a marvel of ancient engineering. Samos is the birthplace of the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras, after whom the Pythagorean theorem is named, the philosopher Epicurus, and the astronomer Aristarchus of Samos, the first known individual to propose that the Earth revolves around the sun. Samian wine was well known in antiquity, and is still produced on the island.

The island was an autonomous principality from 1835 until it joined Greece in 1912.

Contents [show]

[edit] Geography and Climate
NASA Satellite 3D view of Samos. Psalida Beach. At the distant background Mount Kerketeas. View of Poseidonio. The area of the island is 478 km² (184.6 sq mi) 43 km (27 mi) long and 13 km (8 mi) wide. It is separated from Anatolia, by the approximately 1 mile (1.6 km)-wide Mycale Strait. While largely mountainous, Samos has several relatively large and fertile plains.

A great portion of the island is covered with vineyards, from which muscat wine is made. The most important plains except the capital, Vathy, in the northeast, are that of Karlovasi, in the northwest, Pythagoreio, in the southeast, and Marathokampos in the southwest. The island's population is 33,814, which is the 9th most populous of the Greek islands. The Samian climate is typically Mediterranean, with mild rainy winters, and warm rainless summers.

Samos' relief is dominated by two large mountains, Ampelos and Kerkis (anc. Kerketeus). The Ampelos massif (colloquially referred to as "Karvounis") is the larger of the two and occupies the center of the island, rising to 1,095 metres (3,593 ft). Mt. Kerkis, though smaller in area is the taller of the two and its summit is the island's highest point, at 1,434 metres (4,705 ft). The mountains are a continuation of the Mycale range on the Anatolian mainland.

According to Strabo, the name Samos is from Phoenician meaning "rise by the shore."

Samos is one of the sunniest places in Europe with almost 3300 hours of sunshine annually or 74% of the time.

[hide]Climate data for Vathy, Samos, Greece
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	12 (54)	13 (55)	15 (59)	19 (66)	24 (75)	29 (84)	31 (88)	31 (88)	28 (82)	22 (72)	18 (64)	14 (57)	21 (70)
Average low °C (°F)	5 (41)	6 (43)	7 (45)	10 (50)	13 (55)	17 (63)	20 (68)	20 (68)	17 (63)	13 (55)	10 (50)	7 (45)	12 (54)
Precipitation mm (inches)	159 (6.26)	108 (4.25)	88 (3.46)	42 (1.65)	28 (1.1)	6 (0.24)	3 (0.12)	3 (0.12)	18 (0.71)	42 (1.65)	103 (4.06)	167 (6.57)	767 (30.2)
Avg. precipitation days	12	11	9	8	6	3	4	4	3	6	8	13	87
Sunshine hours	155	170	217	270	341	390	434	403	330	248	180	155	3,293
uploads/monthly_03_2012/post-30656-0-59820100-1331565531_thumb.gifSource: weather2travel.com[1]

uploads/monthly_03_2012/post-30656-0-10221700-1331565526_thumb.gifuploads/monthly_03_2012/post-30656-0-71287200-1331565682_thumb.gif

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This post has been edited by Ian Williams: 12 March 2012 - 15:21

[Dave K]

Moscow lapsed back into having an ice day again but the frosts were less cold than recently. No capital had any increase of snow depth but still quite a bit to get shot of around and about especially in Helsinki.

[Ian Williams]