River · Albania
Drin
Drin is the longest river in Albania. It is born where the Black Drin and the White Drin come together, and after a wild journey through mountains it reaches the Adriatic Sea near Lezhë.
Picture credit: Liridon (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Julianruizp (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Julien Seguinot (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is the Drin?
The river starts here: Meeting of the Black Drin and the White Drin near Kukës, Albania.
It ends in the Adriatic Sea near Lezhë.
Countries on the river: Albania.
The story behind it
The Drin collects water from the highest mountains of the Balkans, including snow that falls in Kosovo and North Macedonia. In its middle section it has been dammed three times, and the reservoirs of Fierza, Koman and Vau i Dejës look like long blue lakes squeezed between cliffs. A small ferry carries people and cars through the Koman gorge, a trip many travellers call one of the most beautiful boat rides in Europe. These dams produce a large part of Albania's electricity. Otters hunt along the banks and trout live in the cold side streams. After winter storms so much water can come down that the valleys below are flooded. People disagree about how long the Drin really is, because one branch turns south towards the Buna, and not everybody counts it.
Questions children ask
How long is the Drin?
The Drin is about 285 kilometres long. Not everybody measures it the same way, because the river splits near the coast, but it is clearly the longest river in Albania.
Which countries does the Drin flow through?
The Drin itself flows through Albania. Its two headstreams, however, gather water from Kosovo and North Macedonia before they meet near the town of Kukës.
Where does the Drin flow into?
The river flows into the Adriatic Sea near the town of Lezhë. Shortly before the coast part of the water turns off towards the Buna, so the delta has more than one exit.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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