Drin River (Albania)

The Drin (; Albanian: Drin [dɾin] or Drini [ˈdɾini]; Macedonian: Дрим, romanized: Drim [drim]) is a river in Southeastern Europe with two major tributaries – the White Drin and the Black Drin and two distributaries – one discharging into the Adriatic Sea, in the Gulf of Drin and the other into the Buna River. Its catchment area extends across Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Greece, Montenegro and North Macedonia and is home to more than 1.6 million people. The river and its tributaries form the Gulf of Drin, an ocean basin that encompasses the northern Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast. At 285 kilometres (177 miles) long, the Drin is the longest river of Albania and its tributaries cross through both Kosovo and North Macedonia. Its northern tributary, the White Drin starts from the foothills of Žljeb, at White Drin Waterfall in west Kosovo, and flows generally south, whereas its southern tributary, the Black Drin originates from Ohrid lake in the town of Struga, North Macedonia and flows north. Both tributaries' confluence occurs near Kukës in northeast Albania and Drin then flows westwards through the Albanian Alps and Dukagjin Highlands, where three successive dams were erected between 1960s and late 1980s, forming 3 large artificial lakes. The Drin then passes Vau i Dejës and drains into the Adriatic Sea through its two distributaries in Buna river and west of Lezhë. Located in the Balkan Peninsula at the crossroad of Europe and Asia, the river basin's varied climate and topography have shaped a vast array of flora and fauna. In addition, it has been recognized as one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in Europe. The Drin Delta is classified as an Important Bird Area of international importance by designation under the BirdLife International Convention.