The Mat ( sq-definite, Mati) 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 north-central

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 ...

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

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or 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 drain the surrounding drainage ...

is 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 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 ...

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 ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

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 (other British spelling Hellenisation) or Hellenism is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonization often led to the Hellenization of indigenous peoples; in the ...

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

Overview

Mat originates from the confluence of several streams within the

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

ic mountains in

Martanesh Martanesh ( sq, Martaneshi) is a geographic and Historical region, 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 po ...

, where it forms deep

gorge A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, 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 tenden ...

s and

canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, 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 tenden ...

s. Rising in Martanesh, the Mat heads westwards to the municipality of Mat and northwest through the towns of

Klos Klos or KLOS may refer to: *Klos (surname) *Klos, Dibër, a town in eastern Albania ** Harketari Klos KF, a defunct football club based in Klos, Dibër *Klos, Elbasan, a village in central Albania * Klos, Mallakastër, a village in south-central Alb ...

and

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. It was the seat of the former District of Mat. T ...

. About downstream from Burrel, it flows into a large reservoir (''Liqeni i Ulzës'' – "Lake

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

"). After passing through a hydroelectric dam, it flows through another, smaller reservoir (''Liqeni i Shkopetit'' – "Lake Shkopet") and forms a narrow gorge through the mountain range that separates

Mat District Mat District () was one of the 36 districts of Albania, which were dissolved in July 2000 and replaced by 12 newly created counties. It had a population of 61,906 in 2001, and an area of . It was named after the river Mat, which flows through ...

from the coastal plains. It enters the plains between Milot and

Zejmen Zejmen is a village and a former municipality in the Lezhë County, northwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Lezhë. The population at the 2011 census was 5,660. Demographic history Zejm ...

. After a total length of , the Mat flows into the

near Fushë-Kuqe, between the towns of

Lezhë Lezhë (, sq-definite, Lezha) is a city in the Republic of Albania and seat of Lezhë County and Lezhë Municipality. One of the main strongholds of the Labeatai, the earliest of the fortification walls of Lezhë are of typical Illyrian const ...

and

Laç Laç (; sq-definite, Laçi) is a town and a former 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 administrative center of the f ...

Gallery

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

Sources

Citations

Bibliography