Shkëlzen ( 'Shkëlzeni') is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

situated in the

Albanian Alps The Accursed Mountains (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Prokletije, Проклетије, separator=" / ", ; both translated as "Cursed Mountains"), also known as the Albanian Alps (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Albanski Alpi, Албански Алпи, separator=" / ", li ...

, bounded by the

Tropojë Tropojë (; sq-definite, Tropoja) is a municipality in Kukës County, northeastern Albania, within the historical ethnographic region of the Gjakova Highlands. The municipality consists of the administrative units of Bajram Curri, Bujan, By ...

river valley to the northeast, the Gashi river valley to the southwest, and the Tropojë basin to the southeast. Its highest of the two peaks, ''Maja e Shkëlzenit'', reaches a height of .

Geology

Composed primarily of

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era is the Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Period (geology), Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian r ...

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

and dolomite, the mountain has an anticlinal structure, with a band of

flysch Flysch () is a sequence of sedimentary rock layers that progress from deep-water and turbidity flow deposits to shallow-water shales and sandstones. It is deposited when a deep basin forms rapidly on the continental side of a mountain building ep ...

emerging in the north and south. It forms a sharp ridge between the northeastern peak (Shkëlzen) and the southwestern peak of ''Radesha'' , marked by steep slopes that descend sharply into the valleys. Two glacial troughs divide the mountain's summit, and both peaks show distinctive pyramid-like shapes with sharp edges. Vegetation is scarce, with shrubs and

pines A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as ...

found on its slopes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shkelzen Mountains of Albania Two-thousanders of Albania

Geology

See also

References