The Prespa National Park is a national park situated in southeastern Albania on the border triangle shared with Greece and North Macedonia. At approximately 277.5 km2 (107.1 sq mi), the park encompasses the country's sections of the Great and Small Prespa Lake. It is considerably characterised by high mountains, narrow islands, vast freshwater wetlands, salt marshes, meadows, reed beds and dense forests.
History
Established to protect the natural and cultural heritage of the region, the park is included in the European Green Belt and the World Network of Biosphere Reserves under the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme. Albania's section of Great Prespa is recognised as a wetland of international importance by designation under the Ramsar Convention and further as an Important Bird and Plant Area.
Both lakes are essentially situated between 850 and 900 metres el Located about 150 metres above Lake Ohrid, their waters passes through several karst underground channels emerging from springs into the lake. Mali i Thatë separates the Great Prespa from Lake Ohrid, which is one of the most ancient lakes in the world.The mountain is primarily recognised for the cultivation of mountain tea that flourish at the limestone rocks of the mountain; it is one of the most popular tea types of the Albanian people. Otherwise, the park protects the island of Maligrad, which is dotted with many caves suitable for wildlife and a circular cliff.
Due to the temperature and climate differences between different areas and elevations of the park, it is characterized by housing a wide range of plants and animals. The park falls within the Pindus Mountains mixed forests terrestrial ecoregion of the Palearctic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. Forests cover 13,500 hectares (135 km2) of the park's area, with dense coniferous and deciduous forests. Out of the 1130 species of flora and 174 species of fungus are distributed throughout the park. The fauna is represented by 60 species of mammals, 270 species of birds, 23 species of reptiles, 11 species of amphibia and 23 species of fish.
Prespa National Park is a cultural landscape that displays evidence of cultural practices dating back thousands of years, with the oldest traces of human habitation dating back to the neolithic. During classical antiquity, the trade route of Via Egnatia passed nearby the region as it was inhabited by several Illyrian and Ancient Greek tribes as well as Romans and later by Byzantines. Nonetheless, the park is dotted with many natural and cultural features containing prehistoric dwellings and Byzantine churches such as the caves of Zaver and Treni, the St. Mary's Church and so on.
Location
The Prespa National Park is strategically located in the southeastern region of Albania, bordering North Macedonia to the northeast and Greece to the southeast. It lies mostly between latitudes 40° and 45° N and longitudes 20° and 55° E. The park comprises 27,750 hectares (277.5 km2) in Korçë County and includes the Great Prespa Lake, Small Prespa Lake, Maligrad Island and the surrounding regions. The city of Korçë is the nearest and largest city of the region. 2,100 hectares (21 km2) of the park's territory is agricultural land, while 5,372 hectares (53.72 km2) is classified as unproductive land. Forests occupy 13,500 hectares (135 km2) of the total land area and only 1,828 hectares (18.28 km2) is composed of pastures and meadows. The remainder is occupied by water bodies with 4,950 hectares (49.5 km2).
The Great Prespa Lake is shared between Albania in the west, North Macedonia in the northeast and Greece to the southeast. Slightly to the south, the Small Prespa Lake extends between Albania and Greece and drains into the Great Prespa, which is separated through a narrow path from it. The lakes are situated between 849 and 853 metres elevation above the Adriatic, being the highest tectonic lakes in Southeastern Europe. The Great Prespa is primarily fed by underground tributaries and streams and emerge into the Lake Ohrid. The lakes are surrounded by high mountains including Mali i Thatë in Albania and Galičica in North Macedonia. Between the mountains in the west, there is a narrow outlet of which the lake drains during floods of heavy rainfall and in spring during the snow melt to the Devoll River, which flows through the central mountain range of Albania until it discharges into the Adriatic Sea on the Mediterranean Sea.
Climate
Under the Köppen climate classification, the climate of the park is generally mediterranean with continental influences.[18] It is quite unique due to the diverse relief, variation in elevation and the position of the area associated to the lakes. Mean monthly temperature ranges between 0.2 °C (32.4 °F) in January and 19.2 °C (66.6 °F) in July. Rains mainly occur in late autumn and winter, while the least amount of rainfall is recorded in July and August. Mean annual precipitation ranges between 700 millimetres (28 inches) and 1,400 millimetres (55 inches) depending on region and climate type.[18]
