Ishëm (river)
| Ishëm | |
|---|---|
 Ishëm river flowing near Zall Dajt | |
| Location | |
| Country | Albania |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Kodër-Thumanë, Albania |
| • coordinates | 41°30′26″N 19°41′32″E / 41.50722°N 19.69222°E |
| Mouth | |
• location | Adriatic Sea |
• coordinates | 41°34′40″N 19°33′27″E / 41.57778°N 19.55750°E |
The Ishëm (or Ishmi;
Etymology
The name of the river was recorded for the first time by Vibius Sequester (4th or 5th century AD) as Isamnus. Albanian Ishëm derives from the ancient name through Albanian phonetic changes,[4][5][6] however it has been noted that the accentual pattern found in Íshëm < Ísamnus presupposes an "Adriatic Illyrian" intermediary.[7][8]
Tributaries
The Ishëm is formed from several rivers which arise to the northeast of Tirana in the Skanderbeg Mountains beyond the Krujë range. The most important of these are:
- The Tiranë (Mount Dajt, is the main tributary of the Ishëm.[2] It crosses the mountain range to the north of Mount Dajt, through a narrow canon called Shkalla Tujanit. It then flows west all the way across the Plain of Tirana. The city of Tirana stretches along the southern edge of its broad flood plain. At the western edge of the plain, the river meets its most important tributary, the Lanë, which rises on the western slopes of Mount Dajt and flows through the city centre of Tirana to the south of the Tiranë river in a westerly direction until it meets it. After this, the river continues in a northerly direction.
- The Tërkuzë (Bovilla Reservoir, which has a surface area of around 8,000,000 m³ and has provided drinking water to the city of Tirana since December 1998. The Tërkuza crosses the Tirana Plain in a northwesterly direction, running past Tirana Airport, before it meets the Tiranë river. Once these two rivers join, the river is referred to as the Gjole.
- The Zezë (Albanian definite form: Zeza; Albanian: Lumi i Zezës, lit. 'Black River') arises east of Krujë. It also runs through a canyon, called Shkalla e Kryemadhës, and then crosses the plain in a northwesterly direction, passing through Fushë-Krujë. It meet the Gjole a few kilometers after the Tërkuza.
Course
From the point where the Zeze joins the Gjole, the river is known as the Ishëm. It flows in a westerly direction until it reaches the edge of the Tirana Plain, then turns to the northwest and heads for the
It is possible that the Tiranë river and the Zeza were not always tributaries of the Ishëm, but used to flow into the Erzen. It has been suggested that at an earlier time they crossed the Plain of Tirana in a southwesterly direction, breaking through the chain of hills at the western edge of the plain where there are now two valleys (at Vorë and at Yzberisht), and entering the Erzen river valley. The rivers would have adopted their current, northerly course, as a result of subsidence in the Plain of Tirana.[9]
The drainage basin of the Ishëm covers a total area of 673 km2. The average discharge at the mouth of the river is 20.9 m³/s. The highest annual discharge is over six times the annual minimum.[2]
The city of Bendensis, later called Stephaniaka, was located at the mouth of the Ishëm. It was the seat of the diocese of Benda.
Pollution
The Ishëm and its tributaries, the Lanë and the Tiranë, are seriously
References
- ^ a b Alqiviadh Cullaj, Agim Hasko, Aleko Miho, Ferdinand Schanz, Helmut Brandl, Reinhard Bachofen: The quality of Albanian natural waters and the human impact, in: Environment International 31 (2005)
- ^ ISBN 978-99956-10-23-4
- ^ Malnor Kolaneci: Flood Risk in Albania, Worldbank 2000
- ^ Katičić 1976, p. 186
- ^ Demiraj 2006, p. 150.
- ^ Ismajli 2015, p. 263.
- ^ Huld 1986, p. 250.
- ^ Matzinger 2009, pp. 25–26.
- ^ Herbert Louis, Albanien. Eine Landeskunde vornehmlich auf Grund eigener Reisen, Stuttgart 1927
- ^ Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles (MEDASSET) (December 2009). "Monitoring and Conservation of Important Sea Turtle Feeding Grounds in the Patok Area of Albania: Annual Report 2009" (PDF). Seaturtle.org. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
Bibliography
- Demiraj, Shaban (2006). The origin of the Albanians: linguistically investigated. Tirana: Academy of Sciences of Albania. ISBN 978-99943-817-1-5.
- JSTOR 40848841.
- Ismajli, Rexhep (2015). Eqrem Basha (ed.). Studime për historinë e shqipes në kontekst ballkanik [Studies on the History of Albanian in the Balkan context] (PDF) (in Albanian). Prishtinë: Kosova Academy of Sciences and Arts, special editions CLII, Section of Linguistics and Literature.
- ISBN 978-9027933058.
- Matzinger, Joachim (2009). "Shqiptarët si pasardhës të ilirëve nga këndvështrimi i gjuhësisë historike". In Schmitt, Oliver Jens; Frantz, Eva Anne (eds.). Historia e Shqiptarëve: Gjendja dhe perspektivat e studimeve (in Albanian). Translated by Pandeli Pani and Artan Puto. Botime Përpjekja. pp. 13–39. ISBN 978-99943-0-254-3.