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