Aterno-Pescara

The Aterno-Pescara () is the longest river in the Abruzzo region and the one with the largest watershed,  of the rivers that flow into the Adriatic Sea south of the Reno river.

The river starts as Aterno on the Monti della Laga (a mountain range in the central Apennines) flowing mainly through the provinces of L'Aquila and Pescara; it also flows through the Chieti but only for a short distance. In the comune of Popoli, the river is joined by the Pescara river and then flows into the Adriatic Sea in the city of Pescara.

Geography
The Aterno-Pescara river has a length of , and a drainage basin with an area of approximately .

The Aterno-Pescara river could be divided in three parts: the Aterno from its start till its confluence with the Saggitario river, Aterno-Saggitario till its confluence with the Pescara, and Aterno-Pescara till its mouth in the Adriatic Sea.

 Aterno 
The Aterno starts in the Monti della Laga mountain range at an altitude of , just to the northeast of Aringo, a hamlet in the Montereale comune. It runs through the Montereale canyon and flows, in general, to the southeast and flows to the south of the city of L'Aquila.

After the San Venanzio canyon and of the Raiano comune, the Aterno turns to the northeast.

 Aterno-Sagittario 
In Popoli, the Aterno joins its main tributary, il Sagittario. For several kilometers, the river is called Aterno-Sagittario.

 Aterno-Pescara 
Later, the Aterno is joined by the Pescara river, a very short river; from this point, the river is called Aterno-Pescara or, simply, Pescara, and keeps flowing to the northeast.

The river flows through the valley of Pescara, touching the low part of the city of Chieti and gets in to the city of Pescara where it ends in the Adriatic Sea.

 Municipalities 

The Aterno-Pescara flows through many municipalities; some of them are:

 Province of L'Aquila
 Montereale
 Cagnano Amiterno
 Barete
 Pizzoli
 L'Aquila
 San Demetrio ne' Vestini
 Raiano
 Province of Pescara
 Popoli
 Bussi sul Tirino
 Castiglione a Casauria
 Pescara
 Province of Chieti
 Chieti

Main tributaries 
The main tributaries of the Aterno-Pescara river are:

Left tributaries:
 Vetoio
 Vera
 Tirino - 25 km
 Cigno
 Nora

Right tributaries:
 Raio - 23 km
 Sagittario - 21 km
 Pescara
 Orta - 40 km
 Lavino

Gallery

Related pages
 List of rivers of Italy

References

Other websites

 Fiume italiani: Fiume Aterno 

Category:Rivers of Italy