Gulf of Drin
The Gulf of Drin or Bay of Drin ( or "Pellgu i Drinit") is an ocean basin of the Adriatic Sea within the Mediterranean Sea along the northern coast of Albania. Roughly scythe-shaped, it extends immediately from the Delta of the Buna in the north, across the port city of Shëngjin, to the Cape of Rodon in the south. The shoreline of the gulf is a shallow combination of sandy beaches, sand dunes, capes, salty and fresh water wetlands, estuaries, pine and coastal forests, reed beds and coastal meadows.

The shoreline of the gulf has a length of approximately 60 kilometres and is dotted with cliffs and beaches fed by fluvial imputes. The region is drained by numerous rivers and has formed a characteristic ecosystem and biodiversity. It is named after the Drin River that runs through a mountainous area towards the coast, however, the Ishëm and Mat drains into the gulf. In consideration to the flat landscape, the gulf's shoreline are dotted with extensive wetlands and lagoons that continuously change in size and shape.

The biodiversity of the gulf is relatively high and several protected areas have been established along the coasts amongst them the Buna River-Velipoja Protected Landscape in the north, Kune-Vain Nature Reserve in the centre and Patoku-Fushë Kuqja Nature Reserve in the south. It is also classified as an Important Bird and Plant Area, because it supports numerous bird and plant species. The region lies mainly within the catchment area of the Drin that is officially recognized as an important biodiversity hotspot.

The gulf is one of the most important places in the Adriatic Sea for sea turtles. Its beaches are nesting and foraging grounds for 2 important and endangered species of sea turtles including the green sea and loggerhead sea turtle. Apart from the famous endangered sea turtles, which are to be found in almost all the coasts, it hosts whales such as the cuvier's beaked whale and dolphins amongst them the striped dolphin, risso's dolphin and common bottlenose dolphin.
Q1069932
ocean basin
Concept
Q13924
Adriatic Sea
LOC
Q4918
Mediterranean Sea
LOC
Q48785098
coast
LOC
Q222
Albania
LOC
Q130912
scythe
Concept
Q372490
Delta of the Buna
LOC
Q606485
Shëngjin
LOC
Q1627929
Cape of Rodon
LOC
Q40080
sandy beach
Concept
Q25391
sand dune
Concept
Q185113
cape
Concept
Q496805
salty
Concept
Q102192
fresh water
Concept
Q170321
wetland
Concept
Q47053
estuaries
Concept
Q12024
pine
Concept
Q4421
forest
Concept
Q620424
reed bed
UNK
Q17072722
coastal meadow
Concept
Q107679
cliff
Concept
Q1434465
fluvial
LOC
Q37813
ecosystem
Concept
Q47041
biodiversity
Concept
Q213975
Drin River
LOC
Q116808
Ishëm
LOC
Q519866
Mat
LOC
Q187223
lagoon
Concept
Q473972
protected area
Concept
Q48797022
Buna River-Velipoja Protected Landscape
LOC
Q38693875
Kune-Vain Nature Reserve
LOC
Q13041389
Patoku-Fushë Kuqja Nature Reserve
LOC
Q1139892
Important Bird
LOC
Q6007424
Plant Area
MEDIA
Q5113
bird
Concept
Q756
plant
Concept
Q166620
catchment area
Concept
Q864294
biodiversity hotspot
Concept
Q219329
sea turtle
Concept
Q11394
endangered species
Concept
Q199458
green sea
Concept
Q192095
loggerhead sea turtle
Concept
Q30589365
endangered sea turtles
UNK
Q1865281
whale
Concept
Q623173
cuvier's beaked whale
Concept
Q7369
dolphin
Concept
Q215332
striped dolphin
Concept
Q203897
risso's dolphin
Concept
Q174199
common bottlenose dolphin
Concept
Q929540
Gulf of Drin
LOC
+60^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
60
NUMBER
+2^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
2
NUMBER
part of
country
part of
basin country
basin country
country
located in or next to body of water
located in or next to body of water
instance of
instance of
instance of
IUCN conservation status