The Devoll (; sq-definite, Devolli) 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 ...

. It is one of the source rivers of Seman. It is long and its

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which 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, ...

is . Its average discharge is . Its source is in the southwestern corner of the Devoll municipality, close to the

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

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, Korçë, Devoll. The population at the 2011 census was 6,577.

, then north through

Bilisht 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, Korçë, Devoll. It was the seat of the former Devoll Dist ...

, and northwest through Progër,

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'' which was marshy until after the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Maliq Maliq ( sq-definite, Maliqi), formerly known as Malik ( sq-definite, Maliki), 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 cu ...

, Moglicë,

Kodovjat Kodovjat is a village and a former municipality in the Elbasan 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 a ...

, Gramsh, where it is stowed in a big lake and Gostimë, where it turns south. It joins the Osum near Kuçovë, 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 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 ...

lagoon in the

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

. A number of

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

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 Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is ac ...

, is building two hydroelectricity plants near Banjë ( Banjë Hydro Power Plant) and near Moglicë ( Moglicë Hydro Power Plant), 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 ( 1054 – 5 or 7 March 1111), also known as Bohemond of Taranto or Bohemond of Hauteville, 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, lead ...

and the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I made an

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

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 Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

. This treaty is named after the Byzantine fortress of Deabolis. 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 Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) and History of Syria#Medieval era, Syria. The principality was much smaller than the County of ...

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 ...

state of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

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

Small Prespa Lake Small Prespa Lake (, ''Limni Mikri Prespa''; ; , ''Malo Prespansko Ezero'') is a lake shared between Greece (138 km² drainage area; 42.5 km² surface area) and Albania (51 km² drainage area; 4.3 km² surface area). It is the ...

with the intention to use it later during the summer time for irrigation purposes. Due to the high suspended solids in the river water significant siltation occurred 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