Valamara is a
massif
A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...
located in eastern
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 ...
. Converging on the borders between
Korçë
Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, eighth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population of the city is 51,152 and 75,994 of Korçë municipal ...
,
Gramsh, and
Pogradec
Pogradec (,) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, eleventh most populous city in Albania and the capital of the eponymous municipality. It is located on a List of settlements on the Lake Ohrid coastline, narrow plain between two mountain ch ...
municipalities, it rises at a height of . The northern boundary is marked by
Guri i Topit and the southern limit by Lenie (2012 m).
Geology
The massif is predominantly composed of
ultrabasic rocks. Its terrain features various glacial landforms with numerous glacial lakes, seven of which can be found above . The eastern slopes give rise to the
Shkumbin river, while the western and southeastern slopes are traversed by the
Devoll river.
Biology and ecology
Fauna
Valamara is a population hotspot for the critically endangered
Balkan lynx.
Flora
Vegetation consists of
beech
Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...
and
pine
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 cu ...
forests covering the lower regions and rich summer pastures flourishing in the upper regions.
See also
*
List of mountains in Albania
Albania is mostly mountainous, with the first alpine regions forming towards the end of the Jurassic period. During the Cenozoic era, the malformation of the ''Albanides'' accelerated, causing the subterranean landscape to take its present form. ...
References
{{Ultras of Europe
Mountains of Albania
Two-thousanders of Albania
Geography of Korçë County
Geography of Elbasan County