Tiber
Tiber tī´bər [key], Ital. Tevere, Latin Tiberis, river, 251 mi (404 km) long, rising in the Etruscan Apennines, central Italy. It flows generally S across Tuscany, Umbria, and N Latium, then SW through Rome to empty into the Tyrrhenian Sea by two mouths. It is connected with the Arno River by the Chiana Canal, an important route between Rome and Florence. The upper Tiber and its chief tributaries, the Nera and Aniene rivers, are used to generate electricity. Subject to floods, the banks of the Tiber, especially in Rome, are diked. The silt-laden Tiber continues to extend its delta westward. Ostia Antica, the site of Ostia, the coastal port of ancient Rome, now lies 4 mi (6 km) from the sea. Most of the marshland in the delta has been reclaimed for agriculture.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Italian Physical Geography
Browse By Subject
- Earth and the Environment +-
- History +-
- Literature and the Arts +-
- Medicine +-
- People +-
- Philosophy and Religion +-
- Places +-
- Africa
- Asia
- Australia and Oceania
- Britain, Ireland, France, and the Low Countries
- Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltic Nations
- Germany, Scandinavia, and Central Europe
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- Oceans, Continents, and Polar Regions
- Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and the Balkans
- United States, Canada, and Greenland
- Plants and Animals +-
- Science and Technology +-
- Social Sciences and the Law +-
- Sports and Everyday Life +-