Sazan

Coordinates: 40°29′37″N 19°16′50″E / 40.49361°N 19.28056°E / 40.49361; 19.28056
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Sazan Island
)

Sazan
Sazan seen from the Karaburun Peninsula
Sazan is located in Albania
Sazan
Sazan
Geography
Coordinates40°29′37″N 19°16′50″E / 40.49361°N 19.28056°E / 40.49361; 19.28056
Area5.7 km2 (2.2 sq mi)
Length4.8 km (2.98 mi)
Width2 km (1.2 mi)
Highest elevation344 m (1129 ft)[1]
Administration
StateVlorë County
MunicipalityVlorë
Sazan Lighthouse Edit this at Wikidata
Constructed1871 (first)
Height11.9 m (39 ft) Edit this on Wikidata
Shapecylindrical tower attached to a 2-storey keeper's house[2][3]
Power sourcesolar power Edit this on Wikidata
First lit1920s (current)
Focal height157 m (515 ft) Edit this on Wikidata
Range14 nmi (26 km; 16 mi) Edit this on Wikidata
CharacteristicFl(4) W 15s Edit this on Wikidata

Sazan (

Ionian seas
.

In 2010, 2,721.87 hectares (6,725.9 acres) of the island's surrounding marine area was designated as the

Karaburun-Sazan Marine Park.[4] In clear weather, Sazan is sometimes visible from the coast of Salento, Italy, to its west. The island has been open to the public since July 2015.[5] The island has a surface area of 5.7 km2 (2.2 sq mi). It is 4.8 km (3.0 mi) long and 2 km (1.2 mi) wide, and its coastline measures about 15 km (9.3 mi).[6]

History

The Strait of Otranto on a map from the beginning of the 17th century.

Sazan was known as Sason (Σάσων) to the ancient Greeks, and Saso to the ancient Romans. Pseudo-Scylax mentioned it in his Periplus.[7] Polybius wrote that there had been a military encounter there in 215 BC between the forces of Philip V of Macedon and the Romans. The island was part of the Roman Empire, and later came under Byzantine rule.

In 1279, it was captured by the Anjou of Naples, and in the 14th century, it was held by Albanian lords, often under the protection of the Republic of Venice.

Around 1400, the Ottomans captured it, but by 1696 it was controlled by the Venetians. In 1815, it came under the protection of Britain along with the Ionian Islands, which were made an autonomous republic.[8]

Map of Sazan Island in 1688.

In 1864, the island was ceded to Greece along with the rest of the Ionian Islands. But Greece did not occupy it, and it came under the de facto control of the Ottomans. It was not until the First Balkan War, in 1912, that Greece landed soldiers on the island and formally claimed it, calling it Sasona (Σάσωνα). After the end of the Second Balkan War in 1913, Italy and Austria-Hungary pressed Greece to evacuate all of Northern Epirus, including the island. Due to the risk of starting a war with Italy, Greece evacuated it.[9]

Italy in turn occupied it on 30 October 1914, and established a military commander on the island, which is called Saseno in Italian. This was later ratified on 26 April 1915 by the secret Treaty of London. After World War I, Albania formally ceded the island to Italy on 2 September 1920 as part of the Albano-Italian protocol.

The island was part of Italy from 1920 until after

peace treaty
with Italy.

Post-World War II

During the

gas masks
can still be found scattered around the valley of the island.

The island now is uninhabited but there is a small Italo-Albanian naval base, used mainly to counter contraband between southern Italy and Albania and as a training field for the British Royal Navy.[12][11] In 2010, the island's surrounding sea waters, and those of adjacent Karaburun Peninsula were proclaimed a National Marine Park by the Albanian government.

Environment

Geography and climate

Map of Sazan Island

Sazan is the largest island in the country and Albania's westernmost point. It is strategically located at the entrance to the

Adriatic and Ionian Sea inside the Mediterranean Sea
, which is just to the south according to international scientific bodies.

The island is composed of

above sea level followed by two peaks in the center 331 m (1,086 ft) and 307 m (1,007 ft), and the lowest with 228 m (748 ft) in the south of the island.[1] Sazan has a coastline of about 15 km (9.3 mi) characterized by sandy beaches, capes, rocky cliffs and underwater fauna.

Bay of St. Nicholas

Along its western shore the cliffs descending up to 40 m (0.025 mi) underwater. Capes of the island include the Bay of Paradise (Gjiri i Parajsës), Bay of St. Nicholas (Gjiri i Shënkollit), Cape of Shënkoll, Cape of Kallam, Cape of Jug, Cape of Pëllumba, and Cape of Pulbardha.[1]

The island has a climate unusual in Albania, due to its maritime location. It is not

subtropical on account of its warm winters and hot summers.[citation needed] The climate and vegetation resemble those of the south of Crete in Greece, Tunisia and even parts of Egypt. The flora is different from that of the rest of Albania in that it is subtropical. A small tornado or waterspout was spotted along the coast coming inland in August 2002.[14]

Climate data for Sazan (1991–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 16.3
(61.3) 		17.5
(63.5) 		18.6
(65.5) 		20.1
(68.2) 		22.9
(73.2) 		25.6
(78.1) 		28.4
(83.1) 		28.4
(83.1) 		25.8
(78.4) 		23.4
(74.1) 		19.6
(67.3) 		17.4
(63.3) 		22.0
(71.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 10.2
(50.4) 		10.5
(50.9) 		11.7
(53.1) 		13.3
(55.9) 		16.4
(61.5) 		21.3
(70.3) 		23.7
(74.7) 		23.4
(74.1) 		21.2
(70.2) 		16.5
(61.7) 		13.1
(55.6) 		11.1
(52.0) 		16.0
(60.9)
Average precipitation days 10 9 7 6 4 3 1 2 4 7 10 11 74
Source: METEOALB Weather Station

Flora and fauna

Jacobaea maritima can be found on the eastern coast.[15]

Biogeographically, Sazan Island falls within the Illyrian deciduous forests terrestrial ecoregion of the Palearctic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub. Due to the combination of southern geographic latitude and high altitude and as well the variation of climate, geological and hydrological conditions have contributed to the formation of a unique flora
inside the island.

The variety of flora and vegetation can be explained by its strategically position between the western and eastern

south European flowering ash.[15]

dalmatian Algyroides is the most remarkable reptile on Sazan.[16]

Due to its specific topography, climatic, hydrological and geological conditions, the island is characterized by housing a unique vegetation and biodiversity. The fauna is represented by 15 species of

pigeons, and 3 swifts.[16]

The amphibians are represented by 1 of which include the

Montpellier snake and Balkan whip snake are present in most rocky, and wet natural habitats throughout the island.[16]

There are between 122 identified species, including 113

dragonflies and 10 hymenoptera.[16]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sazan.

References

  1. ^ a b c Agjencia Kombëtare e Bregdetit. "MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR SAZANI ISLAND, ALBANIA" (PDF). bregdeti.gov.al. p. 11.
  2. List of Lights. United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
    . 2015.
  3. ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Albania". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  4. ^ "Management Plan for National Marine Park Karaburun-Sazan". mcpa.iwlearn.org. p. 10. The total area of National Park Karaburun-Sazan is 12,570.82 ha, with marine area near Karaburuni having 9,848.95 ha and marine area near Sazani island having 2,721.87 ha.
  5. ^ "FOTOLAJM/ Anija e parë turistike me 119 turistë mbërriti në Sazan". 26 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  6. ^ Agjencia Kombëtare e Bregdetit. "MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR SAZANI ISLAND, ALBANIA" (PDF). bregdeti.gov.al. p. 9.
  7. ^ Pseudo Scylax, Periplous, §26
  8. ^ Sk (24 March 2009). "The island of Sazan (Saseno, Σασων)". pyrroulas. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  9. ^ "Νήσος Σάσων: Πώς παραχωρήθηκε στην Αλβανία με Νόμο". 22 April 2017.
  10. ^ Olinto Mileta. Popolazioni dell'Istria, Fiume, Zara e Dalmazia 1850–2002. ediz. A.D.E.S. Trieste, 2005
  11. ^ a b Ryan (15 March 2015). "Take a Look Inside These Abandoned Submarines & Bases". History in Orbit website. p. 38. Archived from the original on 11 February 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Cooperation between Italy and Albania (in Italian)". Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  13. ^ Agjencia Kombëtare e Bregdetit. "MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR SAZANI ISLAND, ALBANIA" (PDF). bregdeti.gov.al. p. 18.
  14. ^ http://www.tornadoit.org/lefoto28.htm Trombe marine e tornado sull'isola di Saseno (Albania) nell'agosto 2002, Tornadoit.org
  15. ^ a b c d e f Agjencia Kombëtare e Bregdetit. "MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR SAZANI ISLAND, ALBANIA" (PDF). bregdeti.gov.al. pp. 21–26.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g Agjencia Kombëtare e Bregdetit. "MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR SAZANI ISLAND, ALBANIA" (PDF). bregdeti.gov.al. pp. 27–35.
  17. ^ Euronatur. "ADRIATIC FLYWAY – BIRD CONSERVATION ON THE BALKANS" (PDF). euronatur.org. pp. 107–118. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
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