The province of Palermo

The province of Palermo is the largest of Sicily. It covers an area from the Tyrrhenian coast of the Pollina River (border line of the province of Messina), as far as to the mouth of the Finocchiaro Stream, to the centre of the Gulf of Castellamare and from Sicani Mountains to the upland area of the province of Agrigento, Caltanissetta and Enna.

In the Arab-Norman period, this territory occupied both the Mazzara Valley and Demone Valley.

From the boundary with the province of Messina, the coast of the province of Palermo begins on the sea with a long strip of land made up of derived boulders from the exfoliation of the mountains that hang over it, from the Grande River to the Gulf of Termini Imerese.

This river disgorges into the Tyrrhenian Sea almost at the site of the ancient Imera, and like other flourishing city of culture, now it is only a memory of the distant past.

The coast is high in some areas, as far as Capo Zafferano and Capo Mongerbino. Between Capo Mongerbino and Capo Gallo we find the "Conca D'Oro" with the animated harbour where the beautiful city of Palermo is situated and towards the western coast one can see the famous beach of "Mondello".

There is also the picturesque gulf of Carini with its high and multi-coloured coast, and in the background of the sea there is the interesting Femmine island. Also going on to Capo Raisi and Capo San Vito, there is the biggest gulf of island called Castellamare, that has a high coast and then there is the opening of the Nocella River to Balestrate that has a low coast full of dunes.

In the hinterland of Termini Imerese one can see Mount St Calogero (1326 m a.s.l.) while in the area full of limestone rocks of Rocca Busambra (1613 m a.s.l.) impends the border of Ficuzza wood.

In the southern strip of the province are the Sicani Mountains, in the eastern part the Madonie Mountains with the tall peaks of St Salvatore and in the northern part the Imera Valley.
The big hilly areas of the territory are verdant and rich ofvines, olives and citrus fruits.The woodland area of the province of Palermo is the second in area in Sicily.The presence of water in the province of Palermo is notable for the quantity of precipitations and for the presence of clayish lands that holds the water. The biggest lakes of the province are in the western area ; Lake Poma, "Piana degli Albanesi" lake, Lake Scansano, "Pian di Leone" and Fanaco lakes in the south of the Sicani Mountains.

Generally the rivers, about 10 km long, disgorge into the Tyrrhenian Sea. In the hinterland the rivers flow in varied directions, particularly, the Belice River disgorges into the canal of Sicily. Among the costal rivers there are the St. Leonardo and Torto Rivers, which flow respectively to the east and to the west in the commune of Termini Imerese are longer than the Loreto River, which used for irrigation in the "Conca d'Oro".