The Ishëm (or Ishmi; sq, Lumi i Ishmit) is a river in western

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 ...

, which brings water to the area north of the Albanian capital,

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

. It forms part of a

watercourse A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams a ...

( Tiranë- Gjole-Ishëm), but only the lower third of the watercourse is known as the Ishëm. The Ishëm proper is formed at the confluence of the rivers Gjole and Zezë, a few km northwest of Fushë-Krujë. It 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 ...

near the town

Ishëm Ishëm is a former municipality in the Durrës County, northwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Durrës. The population at the 2011 census was 5,001.Alqiviadh Cullaj, Agim Hasko, Aleko Miho, Ferdinand Schanz, Helmut Brandl, Reinhard Bachofen: ''The quality of Albanian natural waters and the human impact'', in: '' Environment International'' 31 (2005)

Etymology

The name of the river was recorded for the first time by

Vibius Sequester Vibius Sequester (active in the 4th or 5th century AD) is the Latin author of lists of geographical names. Work ''De fluminibus, fontibus, lacubus, nemoribus, gentibus, quorum apud poëtas mentio fit'' is made up of seven alphabetical lists of ...

(4th or 5th century AD) as ''Isamnus''. Albanian ''Ishëm'' derives from the ancient name through Albanian phonetic changes, however it has been noted that the accentual pattern found in ''Íshëm'' < ''Ísamnus'' presupposes an Adriatic " Illyrian" intermediary.

Tributaries

The Ishëm is formed from several rivers which arise to the northeast of Tirana in the

Skanderbeg Mountains The Skanderbeg Mountains ( sq, Vargmalet e Skënderbeut or ) are a mountain range in Albania, Southern Europe. Geography Skanderbeg Mountain is located on the border between the district of Kruja and that of Mat with the highest altitude 172 ...

beyond the Krujë range. The most important of these are: * The Tiranë ( sq-definite, Tirana; sq, Lumi i Tiranës), which has its source to the northeast of Mount Dajt, is the main tributary of the Ishëm. It crosses the mountain range to the north of Mount Dajt, through a narrow canon called Shkalla Tujanit. It then flows west all the way across the Plain of Tirana. The city of Tirana stretches along the southern edge of its broad flood plain. At the western edge of the plain, the river meets its most important tributary, the Lanë, which rises on the western slopes of Mount Dajt and flows through the city centre of Tirana to the south of the Tiranë river in a westerly direction until it meets it. After this, the river continues in a northerly direction. * The Tërkuzë ( sq-definite, Tërkuza; sq, Lumi i Tërkuzës) meets the Tiranë a little further north. It also has its source to the east of the mountain chain and crosses it through a canyon, called Shkalle e Bovillës, which has been dammed in order to create the Bovilla Reservoir, which has a surface area of around 8,000,000 m³ and has provided drinking water to the city of Tirana since December 1998. The Tërkuza crosses the Tirana Plain in a northwesterly direction, running past Tirana Airport, before it meets the Tiranë river. Once these two rivers join, the river is referred to as the Gjole. * The Zezë ( sq-definite, Zeza; sq, Lumi i Zezës, lit=Black River) arises east of

Krujë Krujë ( sq-definite, Kruja; see also the etymology section) is a town and a municipality in north central Albania. Located between Mount Krujë and the Ishëm River, the city is only 20 km north from the capital of Albania, Tirana. Kru ...

. It also runs through a canyon, called Shkalla e Kryemadhës, and then crosses the plain in a northwesterly direction, passing through Fushë-Krujë. It meet the Gjole a few kilometers after the Tërkuza.

River Course

From the point where the Zeze joins the Gjole, the river is known as the Ishëm. It flows in a westerly direction until it reaches the edge of the Tirana Plain, then turns to the northwest and heads for the

Adriatic 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 the ...

. In this part of its journey it passes through a town with the same name. Shortly before the mouth of the river, it is joined by the Droja river, a stream which arises in the mountains northeast of Krujë. The Ishëm discharges into the Adriatic to the southwest of

Laç Laç (; sq-definite, Laçi) is a town and a former Municipalities of Albania, municipality in Lezhë County, northwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision and the seat of the municipality Kurbin. It was the adm ...

in the Rodon Bay, which is bounded on the western edge by the Cape of Rodon and forms part of the

Drin Gulf The Gulf of Drin or Bay of Drin ( sq, Gjiri i Drinit or ''Pellgu i Drinit'') is an ocean basin of the Adriatic Sea within the Mediterranean Sea along the northern coast of Albania. Roughly scythe-shaped, it extends immediately from the Delta o ...

. It is possible that the Tiranë river and the Zeza were not always tributaries of the Ishëm, but used to flow into the

Erzen The Erzen ( sq-definite, Erzeni) is a river in central Albania. The length of Erzen is , while the catchment area is including the southern Tirana District and eastern Durrës District. Name The ancient Illyrian name of the river was ''Ardaxa ...

. It has been suggested that at an earlier time they crossed the Plain of Tirana in a southwesterly direction, breaking through the chain of hills at the western edge of the plain where there are now two valleys (at Vorë and at Yzberisht), and entering the Erzen river valley. The rivers would have adopted their current, northerly course, as a result of subsidence in the Plain of Tirana. The drainage basin of the Ishëm covers a total area of 673 km². The average discharge at the mouth of the river is 20.9 m³/s. The highest annual discharge is over six times the annual minimum. The city of Bendensis, later called Stephaniaka, was located at the mouth of the Ishëm. It was the seat of the diocese of Benda.

Pollution

The Ishëm and its tributaries, the Lanë and the Tiranë, are seriously polluted.

Wastewater Wastewater is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking water or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes. Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of domestic, industrial ...

from industry and the city of Tirana empties into the rivers without being processed. The quantities of

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous ...

nitrogen dioxide Nitrogen dioxide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is one of several nitrogen oxides. is an intermediate in the industrial synthesis of nitric acid, millions of tons of which are produced each year for use primarily in the productio ...

, and

suspended solids Suspended solids refers to small solid particles which remain in suspension in water as a colloid or due to motion of the water. Suspended solids can be removed by sedimentation if their size or density is comparatively large, or by filtration. ...

exceed EU legal limits on several different measures. At its mouth, the river smells very bad and the bay is polluted by the wastewater, plastic, and other detritus from Tirana, which threatens an important sea turtle breeding ground.

References

Bibliography

* * * * Rivers of Albania Geography of Durrës County Drainage basins of the Adriatic Sea {{Rivers in Albania