One of the major tourist attractions in the island of Crete, is the Samariá Gorge. It is a national park. Samaria Gorge is in the prefecture of a city, situated in the South West of Crete- Chania. The gorge is created by a small river, running between the Mount Volakias, and the Lefká Óri (also called the White Mountains). In the Lefká Óri, there are also numerous other gorges. Some people, according to the distance between the village of Agia Roumeli and the settlement of Omalos on the plateau's northern side, claim that the gorge is 18 km long. However, the truth is that its length is no more than 16km. The altitude of the gorge, at the northern entrance is more than 1250m. All the way down to the shores of the Libyan sea, situated in Agia Roumeli, is taken by it. In fact, if you walk through the Samaria National Park, the distance will be 13km. The reason of which the whole distance is 16km, is because there are 3 extra kilometers, that must be walked to Agia Roumeli, from the National Park's exit.
The so called section “Iron Gates” is the most famous part of the Gorge. On this place, the sites of the gorge, reach about 500 meters in height, and around 4 meters in depth. In 1962, the gorge was announced as a national Park. It was in particular, actually a refuge for the Cretan goat ( also known as “Kri-kri”). This rare goat could be found in the area of the park, as also in the area across Agia Marina (in fact only at the small island just off its shore). In the gorge and its surrounding area, there are other endemic species, as also numerous flower and bird species. Inside the gorge is situated the village of Samariá. To be made a way for the park, in 1962, the last remaining inhabitants abandoned the city. | 
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