Prokletije - Location and Relief

Location and Relief

The Prokletije mountains, the southernmost part of the Dinaric Alps, stretch more than 40 miles from Skadar Lake along the Montenegrin–Albanian border in the southwest to Kosovo in the northeast. These points are at 42°45' and 42°15' N in the Mediterranean zone of the western Balkan Peninsula. The southern boundary of the Prokletije is found at the river Drin and its tributary Valbona. In a broader sense the Prokletije also include the mountain ranges to Kosovska Mitrovica with the Hajla and Mokna massifs. Some authors, however, see the river Lim as the northern boundary of the Prokletije in geological terms.

From Skadar lake, the mountains stretch northeast along the Cijevna river area, then curve slightly to the east in the direction of Đeravica summit above Metohija (450m) basin in Kosovo. From here, the Prokletije turn northwards over the Bogićevića massif and Čakor pass, and continue with another row of mountains. The Prokletije finish in the area of upper Ibar river valley near the city of Kosovska Mitrovica, just after the Suva Planina (1,750 m) massif that encircles Metohija basin from the north and northwest.

The Prokletije are ethnographically and sociologically diverse due to many tribes living in the region as sheep herders. Names of various tribes - Hoti, Gruda, Kelmendi, Kastrati, Dukagjini, Shkreli, Shala, Nikaj, Krasniqi, Gashi and Rugova - refer to their geographical locations within the range.