The small, yet staggeringly beautiful, Mediterranean country of Albania relies upon agriculture, fishing and tourism as the mainstays of the national economy. It's numerous mountains dominating the horizon above the general relief and it is from these that many streams flow, becoming raging rivers in the rainy winter months, bringing with them eroded soil and silt containing a plethora of minerals that cause the coastal areas to have perfect fertile conditions for agriculture. The erosive power is so strong that the rivers form alluvial valleys and deltas with many lagoons, sand dunes and sand belts on the coast. In fact, the Albanian coast is constantly on the move. Continuously conquering the Adriatic and Ionic seas meter by meter, shifting, changing shape and, perhaps more importantly, length with each tide. It is this ever adjusting trait of nature that causes some variety in the statistics that are presented by the various sources available.

To request the GISDATA Review issue Fall 2005 / Winter 2006 in pdf format (2 MB) be sent to you by e-mail please click here.