The Osum 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 southern

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 ...

, one of the source rivers of the Seman. It is long and its drainage basin is . Its average discharge is . Its source is in the southwestern part of the

Korçë County Korçë County (), officially the County of Korçë (), is a Counties of Albania, county in the Southern Albania, Southern Region of the Republic of Albania. It is the largest by area and the List of counties of Albania by population, fifth most p ...

, near the village of Vithkuq at an altitude of . It flows initially south to the Kolonjë municipality, then west to

Çepan Çepan () is a village and a former municipality in Berat County, 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 I ...

, and northwest through

Çorovodë Çorovodë ( sq-definite, Çorovoda) is a town and a former municipality in Berat County, Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Se ...

where it flows through the famous Osum Canyon, Poliçan,

Berat Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and ea ...

and Urë Vajgurore. It joins the Devoll near Kuçovë, to form Seman River. The discharge of the river is reported to vary between .

Name

classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

, the Osum river was known as the ''Apsus'', which is a derivative of the

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

root ''*ăp-'' "water, river". The Illyrian hydronym ''Apsus'', corresponds to ''Apsias'', a river name in southern Italy brought by Illyrian migrations (

Iapygians The Iapygians or Apulians () were an Indo-European-speaking people, dwelling in an eponymous region of the southeastern Italian Peninsula named Iapygia (modern Apulia) between the beginning of the first millennium BC and the first century BC. The ...

) in the region.

References

Rivers of Albania Geography of Berat County Geography of Korçë County Braided rivers in Albania {{Albania-river-stub

Name

See also

References