Karaburun (Albania)

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Maja e Flamurit seen from the east

The Karaburun peninsula ( Albanian Gadishulli Karaburun ) is located in the southwest of Albania in front of the city of Vlora . It borders the southern part of the Bay of Vlora from the sea and forms the eastern edge of the Strait of Otranto , which is only 71 kilometers wide at its narrowest point. At Cape Kepi ​​Gjuhëzës the Adriatic Sea meets from the north and the Ionian Sea from the south .  

geography

Map of the Bay of Vlorë

The Karaburun Peninsula is around 15 kilometers long and between three and four and a half kilometers wide. The area of ​​the north-northwest running peninsula is 62 square kilometers. Porous limestone dominates .

Karaburun belongs to the Ceraunic Mountains , which rise steeply along the southern Albanian coast and split into two mountain ranges at Mali i Çikës east of the Llogara Pass . Together with the Rrëza e Kanalit mountain range adjoining it to the south , the Karaburun Peninsula forms the Akroceraunian Mountains , the western chain near the coast. The highest peaks are the Maja Çaderës ( 839  m above sea level ) and the Maja e Flamurit ( 826  m above sea level ), which form a double peak. South of the Maja e Flamurit , the terrain drops steeply to the Ravenaplateau (Mali Ravenës) at an altitude of 200 to 300 meters, and then climbs steeply to the Rrëza e Kanalit mountain range , whose peaks are between 800 and 1500 meters high, on the south side . The Rrëza e Kanalit ends at the Llogara Pass, where the acroceraunic meets the ceraunic.

The peninsula from the east in the sunset
Haxhi-Ali cave

The Karaburun Mountains fall very steeply into the sea on its west side. The coast of the peninsula is very rocky and steep, especially in the west and north. Every cut in the terrain forms a small bay. There are numerous caves along this cliff. The best known is the Haxhi Ali Cave , the largest sea cave in Albania. It is 30 meters deep, ten to 15 meters high and around nine meters wide. The eastern bank is less steep and has several bays with beaches. The northernmost point is Cape Kepi ​​i Gallovecit . Just a little more than three kilometers southwest of it is Kepi ​​Gjuhëzës , the westernmost point on the Albanian mainland. Only the small island of Sazan extends further to the west. It is located on the other side of the so-called Mezokanal around five kilometers north of Karaburun at the exit of the Bay of Vlora .

Because there is very little water on Karaburun, the peninsula is uninhabited. However, like the island of Sazan, it is used for military purposes by the Albanian army . The only access to the peninsula is through the Pashaliman naval base at the southern end of the Bay of Vlora near Orikum . From there a simple road leads along the east coast to Kepi ​​Gjuhëzës .

fauna and Flora

The coast off the peninsula in the north, west and south is up to one nautical mile part of the Karaburun-Sazan Marine National Park, founded in 2010 .

Due to the remoteness and military use, nature is still largely untouched. Fauna and flora in this area are abundant and diverse. An area of ​​20,000 hectares that extends from the northern end of the Karaburun Peninsula to Llogara is protected as a nature reserve. There are plans to expand the Llogara National Park to include this nature reserve.

The flora of the Akroceraunian Mountains is mainly characterized by scrub and forests, which are found mainly along watercourses and in the incisions of which often stretch from the bank to the mountain peak.

10 amphibian species, 28 reptile species, 105 bird species and 42 mammal species live in the area. Apart from the birds, these are more than half of the species found in Albania. Mammals include predators , bats and marine mammals such as the endangered Mediterranean monk seal , of which scientists found traces on the western coast in 1999. In summer 2004, two fishermen reported seeing Mediterranean monk seals in the waters off Karaburun and in the Bay of Saranda . Presumably the animals belong to populations in northern Greece that occasionally migrate to Albanian waters.

Wind farm

In June 2009, despite protests by environmentalists, the Albanian government approved the construction of a wind farm on the Karaburun Peninsula. The plant projected by an Italian company could become Europe's largest onshore wind farm and should have an output of around 500 megawatts. The project is based on an  agreement signed at the beginning of December 2008 in the presence of the Prime Ministers Sali Berisha  and Silvio Berlusconi . Albanian media accuse the government of the project not being in conformity with the law.

history

The name Karaburun is derived from the Turkish Black Cape . Ceraunisches Berge means mountains of lightning .

Ancient inscriptions and drawings by seafarers can be found on rocks in Gramata Bay on the south west coast of the peninsula. The oldest date from the 4th century BC. In Latin inscriptions from the 1st century, Mark Antony and Pompey are mentioned.

photos

  • Peninsula from the east

  • Entrance to the Haxhi Ali cave

  • Inside of the Haxhi Ali cave

Web links

Commons : Karaburun Peninsula  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Management Plan "Llogora-Rreza e Kanalit-Dukat-Orikum-Tragjas-Radhime-Karaburun Complex Site". (PDF; 1.3 MB) MedWetCoast, December 2004, accessed on July 20, 2009 .
  2. ↑ Murat Xhulaj, Alfred Mullaj: DIAGNOSIS REPORT OF THE REGION (LLOGARA, KARABURUNI PENINSULA, ISLE OF SAZANI AND ORIKUMI LAGOON). (DOC) (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved July 20, 2009 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.gef-al.org
  3. ↑ Herbert Louis: Albania - a country study mainly on the basis of personal trips , published by J. Engelhorn's successors in Stuttgart, Berlin 1927
  4. ↑ Fatos Baxhaku: Vlora Çelësi Turistik - Guida e parë turistike-Praktike për Vlorën , Botim i Çelësi, Tirana, ISBN 978-99943-964-4-3
  5. ↑ a b James Pettifer: Albania & Kosovo - Blue Guide , A & C Black, London 2001, ISBN 0-7136-5016-8
  6. ^ The Monachus Guardian, November 2001. Retrieved June 20, 2009 .
  7. ↑ Rapid Assessment Survey of important marine turtle and monk seal habitats in the coastal area of ​​Albania. Retrieved January 16, 2016 .
  8. ↑ Albania Approves Controversial Wind Farm. In: Balkan Insight. June 23, 2009, accessed January 16, 2016 .
  9. ^ Reve: Wind power in Albania - Albania to Build Major Wind Farm. Retrieved March 20, 2011 .
  10. ^ Opposition Grows to Albania Wind Project. In: Balkan Insight. December 5, 2008, accessed January 16, 2016 .
  11. ^ Wind farm threatens Albanian paradise. In: BIRN. Archived from the original on December 29, 2010 ; accessed on March 20, 2011 (English).
  12. ^ Heinz Gstrein : Albanien , Walter-Verlag, Olten 1989, ISBN 3-530-29602-3
  13. ↑ Projektimi Radhime Orikum. In: Bashkia Orikum. Archived from the original on June 27, 2009 ; Retrieved July 20, 2009 .

Coordinates: 40 ° 22 ′  N , 19 ° 22 ′  E