Devoll ( sq, Devoll; sq-definite, Devolli) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

in southern

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 is one of the source rivers of Seman. It is long and its drainage basin is . Its average discharge is . Its source is in the southwestern corner of the Devoll municipality, close to the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

border. It flows initially northeast, through

Miras Miras is a village and a former municipality in the Korçë County, southeastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Devoll. The population at the 2011 census was 6,577.

, then north through

Bilisht Bilisht ( sq, Bilisht) is a town and a former municipality in Korçë County, south-eastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision and the seat of the municipality Devoll. It was the seat of the former Devoll District ...

, and northwest through

Progër Progër is a village and a former municipality in the Korçë County, southeastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Devoll, Korçë, Devoll. The population at the 2011 census was 3,988.

Pojan Pojan is a village and a former municipality in the Korçë County, southeastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Maliq. The population at the 2011 census was 10,864.

(in the northern ''

Korçë Plain The Korçë Plain ( sq, Fusha e Korçës) is the largest lowland in southeastern Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe ...

'' which was marshy until after the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Maliq Maliq ( sq-definite, Maliqi) formerly known as Malik, is a town and a municipality in Korçë County of eastern Albania. It is the smaller of two cities in the district, the other being Korçë, southeast of Maliq. The current enlarged municipalit ...

Moglicë Moglicë is a village and a former municipality in the Korçë County, southeastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Maliq Maliq ( sq-definite, Maliqi) formerly known as Malik, is a town and ...

Kodovjat Kodovjat is a village and a former municipality in the Elbasan County, central Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. ...

, Gramsh, where it is stowed in a big lake and

Gostimë Gostimë is a village and a former municipality in the Elbasan County, central Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Cërrik Cërrik (; sq-definite, Cërriku ) is a municipality in Elbasan Cou ...

, where it turns south. It joins the

Osum The Osum is a river in southern Albania, 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, near the village Vithkuq at an altitu ...

near

Kuçovë Kuçovë ( sq-definite, Kuçova) is a municipality in south-central Albania. It was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Kozare, Kuçovë, Lumas and Perondi, which all became municipal units. The se ...

, to form the Seman. The Seman opens into a small delta south of the

Karavasta Remas is a village and a former municipality in Fier County, western Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it to became a subdivision of the municipality Divjakë Divjakë (; sq-definite, Divjaka) is a municipality and town in Fier Count ...

lagoon in the

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

. A number of

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other Renewabl ...

plants on the river Devoll are planned or under construction. The Albanian company Devoll Hydropower, owned and operated by the Norwegian power company

Statkraft Statkraft AS is a hydropower company, fully owned by the Norwegian state. The Statkraft Group is a generator of renewable energy, as well as Norway’s largest and the Nordic region's third largest energy producer. Statkraft develops and generates ...

, is building two hydroelectricity plants near Banjë (

Banjë Hydro Power Plant Banjë Hydro Power Plant is a large hydroelectricity plant on the river Devoll situated near the village of Banjë, Albania. It was built by Devoll Hydropower, an Albanian company owned by Norwegian power company Statkraft Statkraft AS is a hyd ...

) and near

(

Moglicë Hydro Power Plant Moglicë Hydro Power Plant is a large hydroelectricity plant on the river Devoll situated near the village Moglicë, Albania. The project consists of a large power plant with an installed capacity of 197 MW and an average annual production of 475 ...

), with combined capacity 242 MW. The decision whether a third plant near Kokel is to be built, will be taken when the first two dams are completed. At an unspecified location in the valley of Devoll,

Bohemund of Taranto Bohemond I of Antioch (5 or 7 March 1111), also known as Bohemond of Taranto, was the prince of Taranto from 1089 to 1111 and the prince of Antioch from 1098 to 1111. He was a leader of the First Crusade, leading a contingent of Normans on the qu ...

and the Byzantine Emperor

Alexius I Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...

made an

agreement Agreement may refer to: Agreements between people and organizations * Gentlemen's agreement, not enforceable by law * Trade agreement, between countries * Consensus, a decision-making process * Contract, enforceable in a court of law ** Meeting o ...

in 1108, in the wake of the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ru ...

. This treaty is named after the Byzantine fortress of Devol, modern Albania. Although the treaty was not immediately enforced, it was intended to make the

Principality of Antioch The Principality of Antioch was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade which included parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria. The principality was much smaller than the County of Edessa or the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It extende ...

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...

state of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. During 1970 significant amounts of water from the river was diverted into the

Small Prespa Lake Small Prespa Lake ( el, Λίμνη Μικρή Πρέσπα, ''Limni Mikri Prespa''; sq, Prespa e Vogël; mk, Мало Преспанско Езеро, ''Malo Prespansko Ezero'') is a lake shared between Greece (138 km² drainage area; 42.5 ...

with the intention to use it latter during the summer time for the irrigation purposes. Due to the high suspended solids in the river water significant siltation did occur on the Albanian side. The practice has recently stopped.

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Albania Geography of Berat County Geography of Elbasan County Geography of Korçë County Braided rivers in Albania

See also

References