Vardar
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The Vardar (or Axiós, Greek: Αξιός, the ancient and current Greek name of the river, being pre-Slavic) is the principal river of the Macedonian region of south-eastern Europe. It is 388 km long, and drains an area of around 25,000 km².
The river begins at Vrutok, a few kilometers north of Tetovo in the (Former Yugoslav) Republic of Macedonia¤. It passes through Skopje and into Veles, crosses the Greek border near Gevgelija, Polýkastro and Axioúpoli ("town on the Axiós") before flowing into the Aegean Sea in Central Macedonia west of Thessaloniki in northern Greece.
The Vardar basin includes 80% of the territory of the Republic of Macedonia, which some have also called "Vardar Macedonia" after the river.
The valley comprises fertile lands in the Kilkis and Thessaloniki prefectures and Gevgelija and other parts. The river is surrounded by mountains elsewhere. The superhighways GR-1 in Greece and M1 and E75 run within the valley along the river's entire length to near Skopje.
The river valley has given its name to the vardháris or vardarac, a northerly prevailing ravine wind which blows down the length of the valley to bring cold conditions to the Thessaloniki area of Greece. It is somewhat similar to the mistral wind of France.
Note
¤ The use of the term Republic of Macedonia throughout this article is not meant to imply an official position on the naming dispute between Athens and Skopje. See Foreign relations of the Republic of Macedonia#Naming dispute with Greece, Republic_of_Macedonia#Naming_Dispute and United Nations Resolution 817 (1993) (http://www.nato.int/ifor/un/u930407a.htm)de:Vardar nl:Axios ro:Vardar sv:Vardar