Bistricë (definite: Bistrica) is a river in southwestern

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 shares ...

. It ends in the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including C ...

Etymology

The name Bistrica comes from Slavic, meaning "clear (water)". Other toponyms including "Bistrica" in Balkan countries indicate the Slavic origin of the toponym. Albanian Rivers

Geography

Bistricë starts from

Mali i Gjerë Mali i Gjerë is a mountain in southern Albania. The highest peaks from north to south are ''Mali i Pusit'' (), ''Mali i Frashërit'' () and ''Mali i Nikollaqit'' (). On the eastern slope of the mountain is Gjirokastra while on the other side is ...

(also known as ''Sopot'') in

Finiq Finiq ( sq, Finiq or Finiqi, el, Φοινίκη, Foiniki) is a settlement, considered town or village, and municipality in Vlorë County, in southern Albania located 8 km from the Ionian Sea and 20 km north of the Greek border. It was fo ...

municipality directing initially versus south-west. The main source is near Krongj ( "The Blue Eye" source), also gathering other sources from the nearby villages of Pecë, Kardhikaq, Velahovë, and other smaller brooks. It passes through

Mesopotam Mesopotam ( sq-definite, Mesopotami; el, Μεσοπόταμος - ''Mesopotamos'') is a village and a former commune in Vlorë County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Finiq. The ...

and

municipalities, parallel with the

Sarandë Sarandë (; sq-definite, Saranda; el, Άγιοι Σαράντα, Ágioi Saránta) is a city in the Republic of Albania and seat of Sarandë Municipality. Geographically, the city is located on an open sea gulf of the Ionian Sea within the Medit ...

Gjirokastër Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and the Drino, at 300 metres above sea le ...

road. Initially the river ended in

Lake Butrint Lake Butrint ( sq, Liqeni i Butrintit) is a salt lagoon south of Saranda, Albania, located in direct proximity of the Ionian Sea. It is surrounded by dense forested hills, rocky coast and complemented by saltwater and freshwater marshlands. The ...

, which connects with the Ionian sea through the Vivar channel. In 1958, it was deviated to Çukë channel. The river is 25 km long.

Economy and tourism

The river is not navigable. There is an

artificial lake A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

with the same name ( sq, Liqeni i Bistricës) built on its basin, and three hydro-power stations built in the '60. The river's waters are used to a certain extent as a supply for the nearby fields of Vurg area. All the stations passed through the privatization process from 2010 with plenty of controversies.
A well known touristic place is the " Azure Eye", often referred as "Blue Eye" ( sq, Syri i Kaltër), a spring tributary to Bistrica river near the village named Krongj, with a rich flora and fauna.

Sources

*Sjöberg, Örjan. "A Contribution to the Geography of Hydro-Electric Power Generation in Albania", Osterreichische Osthefte ienna 29, No. 1, 1987, 5-27. ISSN 0029-9375 *Mevlan Kabos; Eshref Pumo; Farudin Krutaj. "Gjeografia fizike e Shqipërisë : në dy vëllime", Qendra e Studimeve Gjeografike (Akademia e Shkencave e RPS të Shqipërisë), 1990–1991, 112. OCLC 38055712

References

External links