Mali i Lopës () is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

located in east-central

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, on the border between Dibër and

Mat A mat is a hard or soft floor covering that generally is placed on a floor or other flat surface. Mats serve a range of purposes including: * serving to clean items passed over it, such as a doormat, which removes dirt from the soles of shoe ...

municipalities. Its highest peak, ''Maja e Dhoksit'', reaches a height of . It is surrounded by the valleys of Zalli i Bulqizës to the north, Zalli i Okshtunit to the east, Kaptina e Martaneshit to the south, and the upper valley of Mat to the west.

Geology

The mountain mass is primarily made up of ultrabasic

magmatic rock Igneous rock ( ), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial m ...

s and partially of

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era is the Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Period (geology), Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian r ...

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

s with a gentle relief. The northern and northeastern slopes are marked by glacial

cirque A (; from the Latin word ) is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by Glacier#Erosion, glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from , meaning a pot or cauldron) and ; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform a ...

s, some of which have transformed into glacial lakes, including Liqeni i Zi and Lake Sopa, which are among the largest of their kind in the country. The area is rich in vegetation, including oak, beech, and alpine pastures. In the Bulqiza massif are found significant sources of chrome ores (Bulqizë, Batër and Thekën).

References

{{reflist Mountains of Albania Two-thousanders of Albania

Geology

See also

References