White Drin Drini i Bardhë Beli Drim / Бели Дрим |
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![]() Waterfall at the mouth of the White Drin river
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Country | Kosovo, Albania |
Basin | |
Main source | Žljeb mountain, north of Peja, Kosovo |
River mouth | with Black Drin forms the Drin, at Kukës, Albania 42°5′30″N 20°23′41″E / 42.09167°N 20.39472°ECoordinates: 42°5′30″N 20°23′41″E / 42.09167°N 20.39472°E |
Basin size | 4,964 km2 (1,917 sq mi) |
Physical characteristics | |
Length | 175 km (109 mi) |
Discharge |
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The White Drin (Albanian: Drini i Bardhë, Serbian: Beli Drim / Бели Дрим) is a river in Kosovo and northern Albania, a 175-kilometre (109 mi)-long headstream of the Drin.
The Kosovo section of the White Drin flows entirely in the semi-karst part of Kosovo, in an arc-shaped 122-kilometre (76 mi)-long course. The river originates in the southern slopes of the Žljeb mountain, north of the town of Peć. The stream is originally a sinking river which eventually springs out from the strong well and falls down as a 25-metre (82 ft)-high waterfall named the White Drin Waterfall near the village of Radovac.
The White Drin first flows to the east, next to the spa of Pećka Banja, and the villages of Banje, Trbuhovac and Zlakućan, where it receives the Istočka river from the left and turns to the south. The rest of the course is through the very fertile and densely populated central section of Kosovo(Podrima region), but oddly, there is not even one large settlement on the river itself, despite many smaller villages on the river. The largest cities are kilometers away from the river (Peć, Gjakova, Prizren) whilst some smaller towns (Klina) and large villages (Krusha e Madhe, Gjonaj) are closer to it. The White Drin also creates the small White Drin Canyon in Republic of Kosovo.
The White Drin receives many relatively long tributaries: Pećka Bistrica, Dečanska Bistrica, Prue potok, and Erenik from the right; Istočka, Klina, Mirusa, Rimnik, Topluga and Lumi I Prizrenit from the left.