Bay of Vlorë

The northern part of the city of Vlora, in the background the island of Sazan

The Bay of Vlora (Albanian Gjiri i Vlores, pronunciation: ɟi ɾi ː i ː vlɔ ɾəs ) is an approximately 25 kilometers long and 10 kilometers wide bay at the junction of the Adriatic to the Ionian Sea to the southwest Albania. It is named after the biggest city on the bay of Vlora.

Location

The Bay of Vlora is surrounded on all sides by land, the northwest but it opens up to the sea. It is surrounded by the separated by a narrow strip of land Lagoon Narta in the north, the city of Vlora in the Northeast, the foothills of the Ceraunischen Mountains in the east, the small town Orikum, the lagoon of Pashaliman and the naval base Pashaliman in the south and the Karaburun Peninsula in West. In the exit to the sea lies the uninhabited island of Sazan.

History

While the northern part is quite open to the sea, about 15 km long peninsula Karaburun is a deep, very well protected and natural bay in the southern part. The south-western end of the bay at the naval base Pashaliman is used as a port for thousands of years. The Roman city was called there Oricum. The Ottomans named the harbor Pashaliman, Turkish port for the Pasha. During the Cold War it was temporarily Soviet naval base - the only one in the Mediterranean. The adjacent lagoon Pashaliman is an important wetland.

Endangered Nature Reserve

An approximately one nautical mile wide strip along parts of the coast of the Karaburun peninsula and the island of Sazan is available as a Mariner National Park Karaburun - Sazan under protection.

Around Vlora and along the entire east coast to Orikum have emerged in recent years, numerous hotels. The beaches attract summer many tourists. In Vlora is the second largest port in Albania. There are - among environmentalists controversial - plans to build a petroleum terminals and other industrial facilities on the waterfront.

Until 1992, was on the coast near Vlora a PVC factory in operation, initiated significant amounts of mercury and iron in the bay. According to a report published in January 2013, the proportion of these harmful substances in the sea water up to four times as high as the allowable amount of the U.S. Environmental Protection Ministry. So far nothing has been done about this pollution by the authorities.

Pictures

Port of Vlora

At sunset

Historical map of the Bay 1573, Simon Pinargenti, Italian engraver