The Northern Mountain Range ( sq, Krahina Malore Veriore) is a

geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

region in northern

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 share ...

. It is one of the four main regions of Albania, the others being

Central Mountain Range The Central Mountain Range is the principal mountain range on the island of Taiwan. It runs from the north of the island to the south. Due to this separation, connecting between the west and east is not very convenient. The tallest peak of th ...

, Southern Mountain Range, and

Western Lowlands The Western Lowlands ( sq, Ultësira Bregdetare or Ultësira Perëndimore) is a physiogeographical region encompassing the western edge of Albania. It comprises the flat plains extending in the west along the Albanian Adriatic and Ionian Sea Co ...

. The northern range encompasses the Albanian Alps extending from the

Lake Shkodër Lake Skadar ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Скадарско језеро, Skadarsko jezero, ; sq, Liqeni i Shkodrës, ) also called Lake Scutari, Lake Shkodër and Lake Shkodra lies on the border of Albania and Montenegro, and is the largest lake in Southern ...

shared with

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

in the northwest through the

Valbonë Valley Valbonë ( sq-definite, Valbona) is a village in the Kukës County, northern Albania. It is part of the former municipality Margegaj, and situated in the valley of the river Valbonë, south of the mountain Maja e Thatë. At the 2015 local governm ...

to the

Drin Valley The Drin Valley ( sq, Lugina e Drinit) is a valley in northern and eastern Albania along the Drin River The Drin (; sq, Drin or ; mk, Дрим, Drim ) is a river in Southern and Southeastern Europe with two distributaries one discharging ...

in the east. The area falls within the

Dinaric Mountains mixed forests The Dinaric Mountains mixed forests are a terrestrial ecoregion of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome in Southeastern Europe, according to both the WWF and Digital Map of European Ecological Regions by the European Environment Agenc ...

and

Balkan mixed forests The Balkan mixed forests are a terrestrial ecoregion of southeastern Europe according to both the WWF and Digital Map of European Ecological Regions by the European Environment Agency. It belongs in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests b ...

terrestrial

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

s of the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sib ...

Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. These ...

s. Inside the Northern Mountain Range, there are two

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

s and a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological o ...

, namely Theth National Park, Valbonë Valley National Park and Gashi River Nature Reserve. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

(IUCN) has listed the nature reserve as Category I, while the national parks as Category II. In 2017, the

Gashi River The Gashi ( sq, Lumi i Gashit) is a river located in Tropojë, northern Albania. It is a nature reserve, spanning an area of . The nature reserve forms a part of the European Green Belt and has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site within th ...

was declared a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

as part of the

Primeval beech forests of the Carpathians and other regions of Europe Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe is a transnational serial nature UNESCO World Heritage Site, encompassing 94 component parts (forests of European beech, ''Fagus sylvatica'') in 18 European count ...

Geology

Albanian Alps

The composition of the great tectonic units reflects the history of the formation of the Albanian Alps. The Albanian Alps (Bjeshkët e Nemuna or Prokletije) are the southernmost and highest part of the

Dinaric Alps The Dinaric Alps (), also Dinarides, are a mountain range in Southern and Southcentral Europe, separating the continental Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Sea. They stretch from Italy in the northwest through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herz ...

. However, Albania encompasses the significant portion of the Albanian Alps with a surface area of . They extend more than from

in the west along the border between Albania and

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

towards to

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...

in the east.

References

{{Portal bar, Geography Geography of Albania

Geology

Albanian Alps

See also

References