The Mat ( sq-definite, Mati) is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

in north-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 ...

. Its overall length is , while its catchment surface is . Its average discharge is . The main

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

is the Fan, flowing from the northeast, while the Mat flows from the southwest down to the confluence with Fan and then towards the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

Etymology

The

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

name ''mat'' originally meant "elevated location", "mountain place". Today's meaning in Albanian, "river bank, river shore", is a consequence of a secondary change through the common use of both the terms ''mal'', "mountain" and ''breg'', "shore", giving the meaning of "elevation". The river was recorded by

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

writer

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 ''Mathis'', following a

hellenized Hellenization or Hellenification is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language, and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonisation often led to the Hellenisation of indigenous people in the Hellenistic period, many of the te ...

graphic mode of the term ''mat''. It appeared in written records also as ''Mathia'' in 1380.

Overview

The Mat originates from the confluence of several streams within the

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

ic mountains in

Martanesh Martanesh () is a geographic and ethnographic region within the Dibër County in eastern Albania. Formerly a commune, at the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Bulqizë. The population at the 2011 census was 1, ...

, where it forms deep

gorge A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tend ...

s and

canyon A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency t ...

s. Rising in Martanesh, the Mat heads westwards to the town of

Klos KLOS (95.5 FM broadcasting, FM, "95-5 KLOS") is a commercial radio station City of license, licensed to Los Angeles, California, and serves the Greater Los Angeles area. The station is owned by Meruelo Group, Meruelo Media. KLOS airs a mainst ...

and then northwest by the town of

Burrel Burrel (alternate forms ''Burrel'', ''Mat'') is a town in northern Albania, 91 km from Tirana. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision and the seat of the municipality Mat, Albania, Mat. It was the seat of the former Distr ...

. About downstream from Burrel, it flows into lake

Ulëz Ulëz is a city and administrative unit in the municipality of Mat, 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 Ionia ...

. After passing through the

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

, it flows through another lake, Shkopet, dammed again by the Shkopet Hydroelectric Power Station forming a narrow gorge through the mountain range that separates Mat from the coastal plains. It enters the plains between Milot and Zejmen. After a total length of , the Mat flows into the

near Fushë-Kuqe, between the towns of

Lezhë Lezhë (, sq-definite, Lezha) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in the Republic of Albania and seat of Lezhë County and Lezhë Municipality. It is one of Albania's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously i ...

and

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 ad ...

Gallery

File:Lake Ulza, Albania.jpg, Lake Ulzë File:mat-bridge.jpg, ''Zog Bridge'' at the beginning of the coastal plains

Sources

Citations

Bibliography