Vjosa River in the context of Vjosa Wild River National Park


Vjosa River in the context of Vjosa Wild River National Park

⭐ Core Definition: Vjosa River

The Vjosa (Albanian: [ˈvjɔsa]; indefinite form: Vjosë) or Aoös (Greek: Αώος) is a river in northwestern Greece and southwestern Albania. Its total length is about 272 kilometres (169 mi), of which the first 80 kilometres (50 mi) are in Greece, and the remaining 192 kilometres (119 mi) in Albania. Its drainage basin is 6,706 km (2,589 sq mi) and its average discharge is 195 m/s (6,900 cu ft/s). The main tributaries are Voidomatis, Sarantaporos, Drino and Shushicë.

The river arises in the Pindus mountains of Epirus, Greece, and generally flows northwest. It enters Albania near Çarshovë, and empties into the Adriatic Sea just north of Vlorë. Generally wild and unpolluted, the river is surrounded by the Vikos–Aoös National Park in Greece, and the Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape near its mouth. In December 2020, the Albanian portion of the river was designated a "Managed Nature Reserve" by the government. A campaign by the environmentalist groups to designate the whole Albanian part of the course a national park, to guard against the prospective hydroelectric projects, ultimately resulted in the creation of the Vjosa Wild River National Park on 15 March 2023.

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Vjosa River in the context of Tepelenë

Tepelenë (Albanian definite form: Tepelena) is a city and a municipality in Gjirokastër County, in the south of Albania. The town is on the left bank of the Vjosa River, about three kilometres downstream from its union with the Drino.

Until the abolition of Districts in 2000, Tepelenë was the seat of the Tepelenë District. Its location is strategically important and there is a ruined citadel occupying a point 300 metres above the river. Ali Pasha of Yanina was born at the nearby village of Beçisht, and Tepelena along with Ioannina were Ali's headquarters. In 1847, the British writer Edward Lear visited the town and noted the devastated buildings.

View the full Wikipedia page for Tepelenë
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