Editing Vardar

{{short description|River in North Macedonia and Greece}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox river
| name              = Vardar
| native_name       = {{ubl|{{native name|mk|Вардар}}|{{native name|sq|Vardari}}|{{native name|el|Αξιός}}}}
| name_other        = Вардар
| image             = Vardar Skopje 2.jpg
| image_caption     = Vardar in [[Skopje]]
| mapframe          = yes
| mapframe-zoom     = 6
| source1_location  = [[Vrutok]], near [[Gostivar]]
| mouth_location    = [[Aegean Sea]], near [[Thessaloniki]]
| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|40|30|27|N|22|43|3|E|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type1 = Countries
| subdivision_name1 = [[North Macedonia]] and [[Greece]]
| length            = {{convert|388|km|abbr=on}}
| source1_elevation = 
| discharge1_avg    = 
| basin_size        =
| extra             = 
}}

The '''Vardar''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|v|ɑr|d|ɑr}}; {{langx|mk|{{audio|Mk-Vardar.ogg|Вардар}}}}, {{Langx|sq|Vardar/-i}}, {{Langx|tr|Vardar}}) or '''Axios''' ({{Langx|el|Αξιός|Aksiós}}, {{Langx|sq|Asi (historically)}}<ref name=":1" />) is the longest [[river]] in [[North Macedonia]] and a major river in [[Greece]], where it reaches the [[Aegean Sea]] at [[Thessaloniki]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=The rivers – Axios Delta National Park|url=https://axiosdelta.gr/en/national-park/protected-area/rivers/|access-date=2020-08-05|website=axiosdelta.gr}}</ref> It is {{convert|388|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} long, out of which {{convert|76|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} are in Greece,<ref name=":0" /> and drains an area of around {{convert|25000|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}. The maximum depth of the river is {{convert|4|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}.

==Etymology==
The name ''Vardar'' for the river may have been derived from [[Thracian language|Thracian]], although [[Dardani|Dardanian]], [[Paeonian language|Paeonian]], [[Ancient Macedonian language|Ancient Macedonian]] and [[Ancient Greek language|Ancient Greek]] were also spoken in the lands drained by the river.

The modern Vardar is thought to derive from an earlier *''Vardários'', which may ultimately derive from [[Proto-Indo-European]] (PIE) *''(s)wordo-wori-'' "black water".<ref>Orel, Vladimir. ''A Handbook of Germanic Etymology''. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2003: 392.</ref><ref>Mallory, J. P. and D. Q. Adams. ''Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture''. London: Fitzroy and Dearborn, 1997: 147.</ref> The name ''Vardários'' (Βαρδάριος) was sometimes used by the [[Ancient Greeks]] in the 3rd century BC. The same name was widely used in the [[Byzantine]] era.<ref name="auto"/> 

Vardar/Vardarios may be a translation of (or otherwise have a similar meaning as) ''Axios'', which may be Thracian and may have meant "not-shining" from PIE *''n.-sk(e)i'' (cf. Avestan ''axšaēna'' "dark-coloured").<ref>Mallory, J. P. and D. Q. Adams. ''Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture''. London: Fitzroy and Dearborn, 1997: 146.</ref> The oldest known name of the river, ''Axios'', is mentioned by [[Homer]] (Il. 21.141, Il. 2.849)<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0073%3Aentry%3D%231109 Axios, Georg Autenrieth, ''A Homeric Dictionary'', at Perseus]</ref> as the home of the [[Paeonians]] allies of [[Troy]]. [[Pjetër Bogdani]] would use the form ''Asi'', an earlier Albanian-language name for the river.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |last1=Arapi |first1=Ina |title=Konferenca për Eposin e Kreshnikëve, Pjetër Bogdani dhe Dardania në gusht 2014 (rreth vendlindjes së arqipeshkvit Pjetër Bogdani) |journal=Epoka e Re |date=17 December 2014 |publisher=|page=6 |url=https://www.academia.edu/40609685}}</ref>

This same hypothetical Thracian ''Axio-'' meaning "dark, not-shining" is theorized to be found in the name of a city at the mouth of the Danube, called Axiopolis in Greek and ''Axíopa'' (perhaps again meaning just "dark water") in Thracian, which may later have been translated into Slavic as ''[[Cernavodă]]'', also meaning "black water".<ref name="auto">Katičic', Radoslav. ''Ancient Languages of the Balkans''. Paris: Mouton, 1976: 149.</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Vardar Stone Bridge Skopje.jpg|thumb|left|240px|Vardar in [[Skopje]]: the [[Stone Bridge (Skopje)|Stone Bridge]]]]
The river rises at [[Vrutok]], a few kilometers southwest of [[Gostivar]] in North Macedonia. It passes through [[Gostivar]], [[Skopje]] and into [[Veles (city)|Veles]], crosses the [[Greece|Greek]] border near [[Gevgelija]], [[Polykastro]] and [[Axioupoli]] ("town on the Axiós"), before emptying into the [[Aegean Sea]] in [[Central Macedonia]], west of [[Thessaloniki]] in northern Greece. The river forms a large [[River delta|delta]] along with [[Loudias]] and [[Haliacmon]] at the [[Axios Delta National Park|Axios-Loudias-Aliakmonas National Park]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The creation of the Delta – Axios Delta National Park |url=https://axiosdelta.gr/en/national-park/protected-area/delta-creation/ |access-date=2024-08-22 |website=axiosdelta.gr}}</ref>

The Vardar basin comprises two-thirds of the [[territory]] of [[North Macedonia]]. The valley features fertile lands in the [[Polog]] region, around [[Gevgelija]] and in the [[Thessaloniki (regional unit)|Thessaloniki regional unit]]. The river is surrounded by mountains elsewhere. The superhighways [[Greek National Road 1]] in Greece and M1 and E75 run within the valley along the river's entire length to near Skopje.

The river was very famous during the [[Ottoman Empire]] and remains so in modern-day [[Turkey]] as the inspiration for many folk songs, of which the most famous is Vardar Ovasi. It has also been depicted on the coat of arms of Skopje, which in turn is incorporated in the city's flag.<ref>Official portal of the city of Skopje: [http://www.skopje.gov.mk/EN/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=34 City symbols] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140929172138/http://www.skopje.gov.mk/EN/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=34 |date=2014-09-29 }}.&nbsp;– Retrieved on 13 May 2009.</ref>

{{Clear}}

==Project to construct the Danube-Vardar-Aegean Canal==
{{Main|Morava-Vardar Canal}}
A proposal to construct a canal connecting the Morava river valley with the Vardar, and hence linking the Danube to the Aegean Canal, has been a dream for a long time.<ref>The Project to Construct the Danube-Aegean Canal(2013)[http://danube-cooperation.com/danubius/2013/09/26/project-construct-danube-morava-vardar-aegean-canal-abstract/]</ref> [[Le Figaro]] published a project of Athens and Belgrade on 28.08.2017. The Greek-Serbian proposal made in Beijing is Pharaonic: 651 km. A project worth 17 billion.<ref>The Greek-Serbian proposal made in Beijing[http://www.lefigaro.fr/conjoncture/2017/08/28/20002-20170828ARTFIG00226-athenes-et-belgrade-sollicitent-pekin-pour-relier-le-danube-a-la-mer-egee.php]</ref>

==Vardaris wind==
The ''Vardaris'' or ''Vardarec'' is a powerful [[geostrophic wind|prevailing northerly]] [[ravine]] wind which blows across the river valley in [[Greece]] as well as in [[North Macedonia]]. At first it descends along the "canal" of the Vardar valley, usually as a breeze. When it encounters the high mountains that separate Greece from North Macedonia, it descends the other side, gathering a tremendous momentum and bringing cold conditions to the city of [[Thessaloniki]] and the Axios delta. Somewhat similar to the [[Mistral (wind)|mistral]] wind of [[France]], it occurs when atmospheric pressure over eastern Europe is higher than over the [[Aegean Sea]], as is often the case in winter.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Northwestern Macedonia.png|Map of the northwestern part of North Macedonia including the source of the Vardar
File:Axios-Vardar river map.jpg|Axios/Vardar river map
File:Veles Gorge Vardar Macedonia.jpg|Veles Gorge
File:River Vardar (2).JPG|River Vardar near Gradsko
File:River Vardar (1).JPG|River Vardar near Gradsko (2)
File:Axios river.jpg|Vardar (Axios) river in [[Greece]]
File:Надолжен профил на Вардар.jpg|Longitudinal hidrographic profile of the flow of river Vardar
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Great Morava]]
* [[Pčinja River]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Vardar}}
* [http://www.iia.cnr.it/rende/big_file/EUROCAT/minutes/Axios%20family%20meeting.htm Proceedings of the 1st Axios Catchment Consortium Meeting] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722030342/http://www.iia.cnr.it/rende/big_file/EUROCAT/minutes/Axios%20family%20meeting.htm |date=2011-07-22 }} by the [[European Commission]]—DG Research
* [http://www.pim.co.rs PIM "Ivan Milutinović", Belgrade, Serbia]; [http://danube-cooperation.com/danubius/2011/11/28/morava-vardar-axios-navigation-route/ Morava - Vardar (Axios) Navigation Route]—About 1,200&nbsp;km shorter route (three days shorter time of navigation) from [[Belgrade]] to [[Thessaloniki#Economy|Port of Thessaloniki]] than across [[Danube]], [[Black Sea]] and [[Aegean Sea]]. Electric power production, improvement of water quality and regulation of flooding wave.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090226143011/http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/5984/moravavardargd5.jpg Morava—Vardar (Axios) Navigation Route map]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.grf.bg.ac.rs/mjovanovic/PapersS/MoravaBMJSistem.pdf Hydropower and navigation system "Morava"]—Concepts of regulation of rivers Great Morava and South Morava for navigation and hydropower production

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[[Category:Vardar basin| ]]
[[Category:Geography of ancient Paeonia]]
[[Category:Geography of Macedonia (region)]]
[[Category:International rivers of Europe]]
[[Category:Landforms of Central Macedonia]]
[[Category:Landforms of Kilkis (regional unit)]]
[[Category:Landforms of Thessaloniki (regional unit)]]
[[Category:Rivers of Greece]]
[[Category:Rivers of North Macedonia]]
[[Category:Geography of Skopje]]
[[Category:Lowest points of countries]]