page_title: Sazan Island
section_title: Geography and climate
hierarchical_section_title: Sazan Island / Environment / Geography and climate
caption_attribution_description: English: Sazan Island map in english
context_page_description: Sazan is an island inside the Mediterranean Sea in southern Albania. It is the largest island in Albania and strategically located between the Strait of Otranto and the entrance to the Bay of Vlorë, forming the border between the Adriatic and Ionian Sea. The island has a surface area of 5.7 km² with a length of 4.8 km, width of 2 km and a coastline of about 15 km.
  In addition to being the largest island in Albania, it is a military zone and sometimes in clear weather it is visible from the coast of Salento, Italy in the west. The island was open to the public in July 2015. 2,721.87 hectares of the territory of the island's surrounding marine area became part of the Karaburun-Sazan Marine Park in 2010.
context_section_description: Sazan is the largest island in the country and Albania's westernmost point. It is strategically located at the entrance to the Bay of Vlorë, in the eastern Strait of Otranto separating Italy from Albania. It is also located at the informal junction line of 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 limestone rocks, which was formed during the Cretaceous period, while the eastern part is partially composed of terrigenic and cleistogenic deposits. It has four peaks, the highest standing at 344 m (1,129 ft) 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. Sazan has a coastline of about 15 km (9.3 mi) characterized by sandy beaches, capes, rocky cliffs and underwater fauna. 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.
  The island has a climate unusual in Albania, due to its maritime location. It is not mediterranean but rather subtropical on account of its warm winters and hot summers. 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.
caption: Map of Sazan Island
exif: {"Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "108", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4602"}