The Islets of Ksamil (), consist of four rocky

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanen ...

s located in the direct proximity to the Ionian Sea in Southern

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares la ...

. The village of

Ksamil Ksamil ( sq, Ksamili, ) is a village and a former municipality in the riviera of Southern Albania, and part of Butrint National Park. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Sarandë. The population at the 2 ...

, after whom the islets are named, is located to the east of the islets. Furthermore, the islands are situated within the boundaries of the

Butrint National Park The Butrint National Park ( sq, Parku Kombëtar i Butrintit) is a national park in Vlorë County, southern Albania. It is located south of Sarandë. The park encompasses of hilly terrain with freshwater lakes, wetlands, salt marshes, open plai ...

. The islets lie to the extreme south of the

Albanian Riviera The Albanian Riviera ( sq, Riviera shqiptare, ), also popularly known as Bregu, is a coastline along the Northeastern Ionian Sea in the Mediterranean Sea encompassing the districts of Sarandë and Vlorë in Southwestern Albania. It forms an imp ...

along the Ionian Sea. They are remote and can only be accessed by boat. The combined areas of the four islands is only . The two outer islands are connected by a narrow strip of sand. In terms of geology, islands has been shaped into its current form over the Jurassic period, with its disjunction of the mainland due to the water activity. The islets falls

phytogeographically Phytogeography (from Greek φυτόν, ''phytón'' = "plant" and γεωγραφία, ''geographía'' = "geography" meaning also distribution) or botanical geography is the branch of biogeography that is concerned with the geographic distribution o ...

within the

Illyrian deciduous forests The Illyrian deciduous forests is a terrestrial ecoregion in southern Europe, which extends along the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It belongs to the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, and is in the Palearctic realm. Geogra ...

terrestrial ecoregion of the Palearctic

Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub is a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The biome is generally characterized by dry summers and rainy winters, although in some areas rainfall may be uniform. Summers are typically hot in ...

biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...

. The vegetation of the islands includes many communities of a Mediterranean type, while the most important habitats include the Mediolitoral and Infralitoral zone. The

seagrass Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four families ( Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Cymodoceaceae), all in the ...

es along the coast are dominated by

posidonia oceanica ''Posidonia oceanica'', commonly known as Neptune grass or Mediterranean tapeweed, is a seagrass species that is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. It forms large underwater meadows that are an important part of the ecosystem. The fruit is free f ...

, halophila stipulacea and

cymodocea nodosa ''Cymodocea nodosa'' is a species of seagrass in the family Cymodoceaceae and is sometimes known as little Neptune grass.

. Posidonia oceanica is mostly abundant in the shallow waters and can extend more down to more than 30 metres in the depth. The forested land area is mostly covered by species such as

holly oak ''Quercus ilex'', the evergreen oak, holly oak or holm oak is a large evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the ''Ilex'' section of the genus, with acorns that mature in a single summer. Description An evergreen tr ...

common alder ''Alnus glutinosa'', the common alder, black alder, European alder, European black alder, or just alder, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to most of Europe, southwest Asia and northern Africa. It thrives in wet locations whe ...

, elm,

bay laurel ''Laurus nobilis'' is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glabrous (smooth) leaves. It is in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region and is used as bay leaf for seasoning in cooking. I ...

and myrtle. The marine waters are rich in

cetacea Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively carnivorous diet. They propel the ...

n diversities including such as

short-beaked common dolphin The common dolphin (''Delphinus delphis'') is the most abundant cetacean in the world, with a global population of about six million. Despite this fact and its vernacular name, the common dolphin is not thought of as the archetypal dolphin, with ...

and

common bottlenose dolphin The common bottlenose dolphin or Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (''Tursiops truncatus'') is a wide-ranging marine mammal of the family Delphinidae. The common bottlenose dolphin is a very familiar dolphin due to the wide exposure it gets in captivi ...

Gallery

Ksamil_albanian_riviera.jpg Ksamil_Albania_._Albanian_Riviera.jpg Crystal_blue_ksamil.jpg Ksamil-ksamil_islands.jpg

References

{{Portal bar, Geography Islands of Albania Geography of Vlorë County Tourist attractions in Vlorë County Tourist attractions in Albania Albanian Ionian Sea Coast Butrint National Park

Gallery

See also

References