page_title: Valbonë Valley National Park
section_title: Geology
hierarchical_section_title: Valbonë Valley National Park / Environment / Geology
caption_attribution_description: English: Albanian Alps seen from the air looking East. In the center the valley and the village of Theth. In the upper part on the right the Valbona valley with Maja Roshit and Kollata to the left. Between the two valleys are the Valbona pass (Qafa e Valbonës) and the Jezerca massif with the Jezerca peak between two clouds. To the left is the Peja pass (Qafa e Pejës) and the pyramid of Maja Arapit. Behind in the upper left corner the Montenegrinian Ropojana valley and the valley of Plav with parts of Lake Plav. To the left is the Radohima massif. In the lower part can be seen the road to Theth over Terthorja pass (Qafa Terthorjës).
context_page_description: The Valbona Valley National Park is a national park inside the Albanian Alps in northern Albania. The park covers a total area of 80 km², encompassing Valbona River and its surrounding areas with mountainous terrain, alpine landscapes, glacial springs, deep depressions, various rock formations, waterfalls and the Valbona Valley with its dense coniferous and deciduous forest. It is characterized by its very remote areas which have a large preserved ecosystem all of which is primarily untouched with pristine quality. This vast pristine ecosystem is the centrepiece of what has been referred to as the Albanian Miracle of the Alps.
  The park borders Montenegro in the north, Gashi Nature Reserve in the east, Nikaj-Mërtur Regional Nature Park in the south and Theth National Park in the west. It is proposed to expand the park's boundaries and merge it with Theth and Gashi. Furthermore, Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro are planning to establish a transboundary national park, that will be called the Balkan Peace Park.
context_section_description: The relief of the park is mountainous and highly fragmented, characterized with steep slopes, high ridges and deep river valleys. The slopes of the mountains are almost vertical, with perpendicular rocks hanging on the river, peaks in the shape of towers dressed by trees, with their cirques filled with eternal snow altitude differences with the river bed. The Albanian Alps are a notable geographic feature of Southern and Southeastern Europe, being at the same time the highest section of the Dinaric Alps. The formation was an episodic process caused by the collision of the African and Eurasian plate. They are strongly karstified, where rain and snow quickly seep into a karst system. Nowhere in the Balkans have glaciers left so much evidence of erosion. In contrast to the Alps in Central Europe, the Albanian Alps are the most glaciated mountains in Europe located south of the Scandinavian ice sheet.
  Geological formations are composed of limestone rocks, limestone - siliceous, clay shale and conglomerate.
  Gray forest soils are located on limestone rocks. Agricultural lands are brown forest soils and soils meadow mountain. There are grey forest soils between 500 and 1200 meters heights, then come Velvet Lands extending the left slope of this valley from Mbaskollata to Shoshan at height 400–900 meters. Their geological construction (alps) is diverse, with the oldest formations, those paleozoic ones, with which are related quartz mineral properties in river valley. Limestones that come from mesozoic, are wider spread, and serve as the basis of bauxite. They form the alps main ribs. Mixed with dolomite and modeled by karsts they form to Alpines a very bitter relief. Insoluble flysch deposits have formed a very harsh terrain. In the region, the carbonatite rocks are dominant and only in the villages of Valbona and Dragobia the schist nucleus of the Alps appear.
caption: The Albanian Alps as seen from the air; the Valley of Valbonë lies in the upper part on the right with Maja Roshit and Maja e Kollatës to the left.
exif: {}