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The White Drin or White Drim ( sq, Drini i Bardhë,/ ''Beli Drim'') is a river in
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 ...
and 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 ...
, a ca. -long headstream of the Drin.


Course


Kosovo

The Kosovo section of the White Drin flows entirely in the semi-
karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, Dolomite (rock), dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathe ...
part of
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 an arc-shaped -long course. The river originates in the southern slopes of the Zhleb mountain, north of the town of
Peja Peja ( Indefinite Albanian form: ''Pejë'' ) or Peć ( sr-Cyrl, Пећ ) is the fourth largest city of Kosovo and seat of Peja Municipality and Peja District. It is situated in the region of Rugova on the eastern section of the Accursed Mou ...
. The river springs near the Radavc Cave. The cave is multi-levelled, not much explored and has a lake inside. The water from the spring was used by the Peja brewery. The stream is originally a sinking river which eventually springs out from the strong well and falls down as a -high
waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several ...
named the White Drin Waterfall near the village of Radac, away from Peja. In 1934, Russian émigré Dimitry Tyapkin projected and constructed a hydroelectric power plant next to the waterfalls which produced electricity for the town. The White Drin first flows to the east, next to the spa of Banja of Peja or Ilixhe, and the villages of Banje, Novosellë, Dubova, Ozdrim, Trubuhoc and Zllakuqan, where it receives the Istog river from the left and turns to the south. The rest of the course is through the very fertile and densely populated central section of Kosovo (Podrima region), but oddly, there is not even one large settlement on the river itself, despite many smaller villages on the river. The largest cities are several miles away from the river (
Peja Peja ( Indefinite Albanian form: ''Pejë'' ) or Peć ( sr-Cyrl, Пећ ) is the fourth largest city of Kosovo and seat of Peja Municipality and Peja District. It is situated in the region of Rugova on the eastern section of the Accursed Mou ...
, Gjakova,
Prizren ) , settlement_type = Municipality and city , image_skyline = Prizren Collage.jpg , imagesize = 290px , image_caption = View of Prizren , image_alt = View of Prizren , image_flag ...
) whilst some smaller towns ( Klina) and large villages ( Krusha e Madhe, Gjonaj) are closer to it. The White Drin also creates the small White Drin Canyon in Republic of Kosovo. The White Drin receives many relatively long tributaries: Lumbardhi i Pejës, Lumbardhi i Deçanit, Prue Potok, and Erenik from the right; Istog, Klina, Mirusha, Rimnik, Topluga and
Lumbardhi i Prizrenit The Lumbardhi i Prizrenit or Prizren Bistrica ( sq, Bistrica e Prizrenit; sr, Призренска Бистрица / ''Prizrenska Bistrica'') is a river in Kosovo. It flows through the villages of Sredska and Prizren, and empties into the Whit ...
from the left. The Kosovo part of the White Drin basin comprises . Here the waters of the river are used for waterworks of the big nearby towns, irrigation and power production (especially its right tributaries). At the Vërmica-Shalqin
border crossing Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...
, the river enters the eastern
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 ...
n region of Trektan.


Albania

The Albanian section of the river is longDrin/Drim River Sub-basin
/ref> with the drainage area of . There are no settlements on the river and it receives the Lumë river from the left (which also originates in Kosovo, from several rivers in the region. Finally, the White Drin reaches the town of Kukës where it meets the
Black Drin The Black Drin, or Black Drim ( sq, Drini i Zi, mk, , translit=Crn Drim) is a river in North Macedonia and Albania. It flows out of Lake Ohrid in Struga, North Macedonia. It is long and its drainage basin is . Its average discharge is . After abo ...
and forms the Drin, which flows into the
Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to th ...
; thus the White Drin belongs to the Adriatic Sea
drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
. The river is not navigable. The entire Albanian section (and part of the Kosovan) is flooded by the artificial Fierza lake (''see Drin controversy'').


Notes


References

* * Jovan Đ. Marković (1990): ''Enciklopedijski geografski leksikon Jugoslavije''; Svjetlost-Sarajevo;


External links

* {{Rivers in Albania Rivers of Albania Rivers of Kosovo International rivers of Europe Geography of Kukës County Geography of Peja District