Concept

Ishëm (river)

Summary
The Ishëm (or Ishmi; Lumi i Ishmit) is a river in western Albania, which brings water to the area north of the Albanian capital, Tirana. It forms part of a watercourse (Tiranë-Gjole-Ishëm), but only the lower third of the watercourse is known as the Ishëm. The Ishëm proper is formed at the confluence of the rivers Gjole and Zezë, a few km northwest of Fushë-Krujë. It flows into the Adriatic Sea near the town Ishëm. The length of the watercourse is recorded in different sources as between 74 and 79 km. The name of the river was recorded for the first time by Vibius Sequester (4th or 5th century AD) as Isamnus. Albanian Ishëm derives from the ancient name through Albanian phonetic changes, however it has been noted that the accentual pattern found in Íshëm < Ísamnus presupposes an Adriatic "Illyrian" intermediary. The Ishëm is formed from several rivers which arise to the northeast of Tirana in the Skanderbeg Mountains beyond the Krujë range. The most important of these are: The Tiranë (Tirana; Lumi i Tiranës), which has its source to the northeast of Mount Dajt, is the main tributary of the Ishëm. It crosses the mountain range to the north of Mount Dajt, through a narrow canon called Shkalla Tujanit. It then flows west all the way across the Plain of Tirana. The city of Tirana stretches along the southern edge of its broad flood plain. At the western edge of the plain, the river meets its most important tributary, the Lanë, which rises on the western slopes of Mount Dajt and flows through the city centre of Tirana to the south of the Tiranë river in a westerly direction until it meets it. After this, the river continues in a northerly direction. The Tërkuzë (Tërkuza; Lumi i Tërkuzës) meets the Tiranë a little further north. It also has its source to the east of the mountain chain and crosses it through a canyon, called Shkalle e Bovillës, which has been dammed in order to create the Bovilla Reservoir, which has a surface area of around 8,000,000 m3 and has provided drinking water to the city of Tirana since December 1998.
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