Korab (, ) is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

in the eastern corner of

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 The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

and the western part of

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

, running along the border between both countries. It forms also the European Green Belt. In Albania, it is also called ''Vargu lindor'' (), but this term encompasses mountains further north, such as the Koritnik and Gjallica. The highest peak is

Mount Korab Korab ( sq, Maja e Korabit or ''Mali i Korabit''; mk, Голем Кораб, lit=Great Korab) is the highest peak of the eponymous mountain range and the fourth-highest mountain located entirely in the Balkan Peninsula, standing at . Sited o ...

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. The ...

. With a prominence of , Korab is the 18th most prominent mountain peak in the

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

an continent. The mountains are composed of sedimentary rock, including shale, sandstone, dolomite and limestone. The name refers to a Paleochristian sea god.

Geographically 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 ...

, the Korab mountain range extends from the Dibër Valley in a north-south direction, between the river valleys of 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 its tributary the Radika. It is located near the

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

of Albania, North Macedonia, and

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 partially recognised state in Southeast Eur ...

, southwest of the Šar Mountains. The Drin Valley lies around to the west, the bed of the Radika at about above sea level. The geology of the park is dominated by mountains made up of exposed faulted sedimentary rock and valleys containing glacial lakes. The Albanian part has numerous high peaks and ranges, almost as tall as the Korab

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

. To the north of this double-peak there are many other nameless peaks of a similar height. Korab-Pforte (, ) lies around southwest of Korab

and is almost as tall as the main mountain, at . A few hundred meters further south, there are another peaks,

Maja e Moravës ''Maja e Moravës'', a mountain peak on the border between Albania and North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast ...

and

Mali i Gramës Mali i Gramës is a mountain in the Albanian part of the Korab mountain range. Mali i Gramës reaches a height of 2,345 metres high. Around the mountain are many lakes including the largest lake on Mount Korab which also shares the name 'Gramë'. ...

. The mountains are composed of shale and

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

. Much of the range is protected by nature parks; the Korab-Koritnik Nature Park. South of the complex of peaks around Mount Korab, there are other large mountains:

() and Dešat's Velivar summit (). After that, the range falls away to the city of

Debar Debar ( mk, Дебaр ; Albanian: ''Dibër''/''Dibra'' or ''Dibra e Madhe;'' ) is a city in the western part of North Macedonia, near the border with Albania, off the road from Struga to Gostivar. It is the seat of Debar Municipality. Debar has ...

and the

Debar Lake __NOTOC__ Debar Lake ( mk, Дебарско Езеро , translit=Debarsko Ezero; sq, Liqeni i Dibrës) is an artificial lake in the western portion of North Macedonia near the town of Debar after which it is named. A dam at Špilje blocks the Bl ...

. The city of

Peshkopi Peshkopi ( sq-definite, Peshkopia, Latin: ''Penestae'') is a town in Dibër County, northeastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Dibër. The population at the 2011 census was 13,251.

is to the southwest of Mali i Gramës and has geothermal baths.

Image gallery

Mali Korab and Korabska Vrata.jpg, Mali Korab and Korabska Vrata captured from Mount Korab MountKorab.jpg, The range from the Macedonian side Velky Korab 2011.jpg, Fusha e Korabit Liqeni i Gramës.jpg, Glacial Gramë Lake Deshat-from-Trebishte.jpg, Dešat File:Mali Bardhe.jpg, Gypsum near the Mali i Bardhë

References

{{Authority control Mountain ranges of Albania Mountain ranges of North Macedonia Protected areas of Dibër County

Image gallery

See also

References