Drin (river) - Course

Course

From Kukës, the Drin flows through northern Albania, first flowing through the Has area to the north, passing through the towns of Spas, Msi and Fierzë, and then, upon reaching the Dukagjini area, it descends to the south, flowing through Apripë e Gurit, Toplanë, Dushman, Koman, Vjerdhë Mazrrek, Rragam, and Pale Lalej. At Vau i Dejës, it enters the low Shkodra Field and splits into two arms. One empties into the Bay of Drin (Albanian: Pellg i Drinit) into the Adriatic Sea southwest of the city of Lezhë (The Mouth of Drin, Albanian: Gryk'e Drinit). The other empties into the Bojana River near the Rozafa Castle. Even though being a shorter branch by 15 km, the section that reaches the Bojana is called Great Drin (Drini i Madh in Albanian), because it brings much more water than the longer branch which reaches the sea. The Great Drin also once reached the sea but a major flood in 1858 cut it short from the sea, and breached through to the Bojana. The Great Drin is very wide and brings a huge amount of water (320 m³/s), but being short, some maps indicate it as a lake. After Vau i Dejës, the longer branch continues to the south, passing through Bushat, Mabë, Gajdër, Lezhë and Medes. South of Lezhë it enters the low and flooded littoral area and flowing through the marshes it finally reaches the Adriatic.