Mouth | Park Gates
Once a big delta, today an oasis for migratory birds
The mouth of the Ofanto river in the Adriatic was once a delta over 1 km deep. During the second part of the Twentieth century, following the creation of seven artificial reservoirs along the river, the drastic decline in the flow produced a retreat of the coast, transforming the mouth into an estuary. Near the mouth still survive, especially during the winter, small basins covered with reeds that serve as an oasis for passing migratory birds.
In the area of the mouth, it is possible to observe the pylons of the old cableway that carried the salt from the saltworks of Margherita to the port of Barletta and the Torre Ofanto, a “Saracen tower” with sighting functions dating back to the Sixteenth Century.