Bay of Vlorë
The Bay of Vlorë ( — ) is a large bay of the Adriatic Sea situated along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast on the Mediterranean Sea in Southern Europe. It opens to the sea in the northwest and is largely surrounded by the lagoon of Narta in the north, the city of Vlorë in the northeast, the mountains of the Ceraunians in the east and southeast, and the peninsula of Karaburun in the southwest and west. Biodiversity. The bay is categorized as an Important Bird and Plant Area by virtue of it provides excellent habitats for a vast array of  bird and plant species. Geography. The Karaburun Peninsula, which stretches at the meetingpoint of the Adriatic and Ionian Sea, encompasses the western shoreline of the bay that is highly hilly and irregular in structure and is home to the Karaburun-Sazan Marine Park. History. In antiquity (pre-400 BCE) the northernmost limit of Chaonian rule was located at the northern end of the bay of Vlorë. The region of Chaonia usually stretched up to western edge of the bay corresponding to the Akrokeraunian peninsula. In classical antiquity Greek speakers were found in the coastal areas of the bay and as north  as the mouth of Aoos. Illyrians were found in the hinterland of the Bay of Vlorë. In Roman times, the region was a significant place and was the scene, for example, of some of Caesar's battles. It has been suggested that Julius Caesar landed inside the Bay of Vlorë from Brundusium across the Adriatic, in order to carry on the Civil War against Pompey in Illyricum and the oncoming Battle of Dyrrhachium on 10 July 48 BC. In one account, 18 ships full of merchandise have sunk in the Bay. Studying the Bay of Vlorë, it has been one  of the main projects of the navigation department of the University of Vlora in the last few years. The southwestern end of the Bay, at the naval base of Pashaliman, has been used as a harbor since antiquity. The city was called Oricum. During the Cold War, it was temporarily a Soviet naval base, the only one in the Mediterranean sea.