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 ...

has more than 152

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 ...

s and streams, forming 8 large rivers flowing from southeast to northwest, mainly discharging towards the

Adriatic coast 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 the ...

. The rivers of Albania have a total annual flow rate of , or per year. A majority of the precipitation that falls on Albania, drains into the

s and reaches the coast on the west without even leaving the country. In the north, only one small stream escapes Albania. In the south, an even smaller rivulet drains into

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. Due to the topographical divide is east of the border with the

Republic of North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

. An extensive portion of the basin of the

White Drin The White Drin or White Drim ( sq, Drini i Bardhë,/ ''Beli Drim'') is a river in Kosovo and northern Albania, a ca. -long headstream of the Drin. Course Kosovo The Kosovo section of the White Drin flows entirely in the semi-karst part of ...

, basin is in the Dukagjin region, across the northeastern border with

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

. The

Lake of Ohrid Lake Ohrid ( mk, Охридско Езеро , al, Liqeni i Ohrit , also referred as ''Liqeni i Pogradecit'';) is a lake which straddles the mountainous border between the southwestern part of North Macedonia and eastern Albania. It is one of ...

, Lake of Prespa and the Small Lake of Prespa on the southeast, as well as the streams that flow into them, drain into the

Black Drin The Black Drin, or Black Drim ( sq, Drini i Zi, mk, , translit=Crn Drim) is a river in North Macedonia and Albania. It flows out of Lake Ohrid in Struga, North Macedonia. It is long and its drainage basin is . Its average discharge is . After ab ...

. The watershed divide in the south also dips nearly into Greece at one point. Several tributaries of the

Vjosa River The Vjosa (; indefinite form: ) or Aoös ( el, Αώος) is a river in northwestern Greece and southwestern Albania. Its total length is about , of which the first are in Greece, and the remaining in Albania. Its drainage basin is and its ave ...

rise in that area. About 65% of their watershed lies within the Albanian territory. The water temperature ranges from 3.5 to 8.9 °C in the winter, and from 17.8 to 24.6 °C in the summer months.

Main rivers

Other rivers

Basins

Organized by

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

. Albanian-language names are listed if different from English. Italics indicate that the body of water is not in or bordering Albania.

Adriatic Sea

* Bojana – ** Great Drin – ***

– ***

– ****

Lake Ohrid Lake Ohrid ( mk, Охридско Езеро , al, Liqeni i Ohrit , also referred as ''Liqeni i Pogradecit'';) is a lake which straddles the mountainous border between the southwestern part of North Macedonia and eastern Albania. It is one of Eu ...

– *** Valbona **** Gashi ***

Shala Shala (Šala) was a Mesopotamian goddess of weather and grain and the wife of the weather god Adad. It is assumed that she originated in northern Mesopotamia and that her name might have Hurrian origin. She was worshiped especially in Karkar a ...

*** Kir **

Lake Skadar Lake Skadar ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Скадарско језеро, Skadarsko jezero, ; sq, Liqeni i Shkodrës, ) also called Lake Scutari, Lake Shkodër and Lake Shkodra lies on the border of Albania and Montenegro, and is the largest lake in Southern ...

– *** ''

Morača The Morača ( sr-cyrl, Морача, ) is a major river in Montenegro that originates in the northern region in Kolašin Municipality under Mount Rzača. It meanders southwards for before emptying into Lake Skadar. Its drainage basin covers ...

'' – ****

Cem Cem Sultan (also spelled Djem or Jem) or Sultan Cem or Şehzade Cem (December 22, 1459 – February 25, 1495, ; ota, جم سلطان, Cem sulṭān; tr, Cem Sultan; french: Zizim), was a claimant to the Ottoman throne in the 15th century. Ce ...

****

Mareza The Mareza (Serbian Cyrillic: Мареза) is a river in Montenegro. It is also a name of suburb of Podgorica, in which the river originates. The river The River Mareza is a small river that originates at the Mareza Springs, some 3 km north ...

Gulf of Drin The Gulf of Drin or Bay of Drin ( sq, Gjiri i Drinit or ''Pellgu i Drinit'') is an ocean basin of the Adriatic Sea within the Mediterranean Sea along the northern coast of Albania. Roughly scythe-shaped, it extends immediately from the Delta of ...

– ** Small Drin; see Great Drin above *

Aoös The Vjosa (; indefinite form: ) or Aoös ( el, Αώος) is a river in northwestern Greece and southwestern Albania. Its total length is about , of which the first are in Greece, and the remaining in Albania. Its drainage basin is and its ave ...

– **

Drino The Drino or Drinos ( sq, Drino, el, Δρίνος) is a river in southern Albania and northwestern Greece, tributary of the Vjosë. Its source is in the northwestern part of the Ioannina regional unit, near the village Delvinaki. It flows init ...

** Shushicë ** Sarantaporos * Seman **

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 ...

** Devoll ***

Tomorrica Tomorrica () is a traditional or ethnographic region in Central Albania, located near the border between Berat County and Elbasan County. It takes its name from Mount Tomorr. The modern region consists of 31 villages, and it is divided by the Tomo ...

Shkumbin The Shkumbin (; ; la, Genusus, also la, Genessus, label=none or la, Scampis, label=none), also commonly Shkembi, is a river in Southern Europe. It is long and its drainage basin is . Its average discharge is . Etymology It derives from La ...

* Mat ** Fan *

Erzen The Erzen ( sq-definite, Erzeni) is a river in central Albania. The length of Erzen is , while the catchment area is including the southern Tirana District and eastern Durrës District. Name The ancient Illyrian name of the river was ''Ardaxa ...

Ishëm Ishëm is a former municipality in the Durrës County, northwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Durrës. The population at the 2011 census was 5,001.Lanë The Lanë ( sq-definite, Lana) is the main stream that crosses through Tirana, the capital of Albania. Its source is in the mountains east of Tirana. Although once clean, it now carries sewage. During the 1990s, many illegal kiosks and buildings ...

** Zezë

Ionian Sea

Pavllë The Pavllë ( sq-definite, Pavlla, el, Παύλα - ''Pavla'') is a river in northwestern Greece and southern Albania. Its source is in the Mourgana mountains in Greece, near the village Ampelonas, Thesprotia. It flows west into Albania, along the ...

* Bistricë **

Blue Eye Eye color is a polygenic phenotypic character determined by two distinct factors: the pigmentation of the eye's iris and the frequency-dependence of the scattering of light by the turbid medium in the stroma of the iris. In humans, the pi ...

(spring) –

Black Sea

* ''

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

'' – ** ''

Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...

'' *** ''

Drina The Drina ( sr-Cyrl, Дрина, ) is a long Balkans river, which forms a large portion of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Alps whic ...

'' **** Lim

References

{{Authority control *

Rivers 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 ...

Landforms of Albania