Maja Harapit

Maja Harapit (Albanian: Maja e Harapit, or Maja e Arapit) is a mountain in the Prokletije range in the north of Albania. The mountain is 2,217 metres (7,274 ft) high, with its impressive 800 metres (2,600 ft) high south wall[1] the northwestern edge of a large basin, where it dominates as a prominent rock formation, the conclusion of the Shala Valley and is one of the landmarks of Theth Valley. The mountain is on the edge of the National Parks Theth.[2]

Maja Harapit
Massive south wall of Maja Harapit
Highest point
Elevation2,218 m (7,277 ft)
Coordinates42°26′30″N 19°48′45″E 
Naming
Language of nameAlbanian
Geography
LocationAlbania
Parent rangeProkletije
Geology
Mountain typeLimestone

The mountain is located near the mountain pass of Qafa e Pejës (520 metres (1,710 ft)) north of Theth between the mountains of the Bjeshkët e Nemuna in the West - completed by the Maja Radohimës (2,570 metres (8,430 ft)) - and the Maja Jezercë massif in the east. While the steep south wall of the Shala Valley which is part of the mountain is actually based on a broad saddle between the two great massifs, the height of 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) steeply to a rocky point jutting which it juts from. The tip and the surrounding saddle is made of rugged rock, of sinkholes and caves penetrating karst formations.[1][2]

Albania's longest horizontal cave is located beneath the south wall. Bulgarian researchers have explored its length at 2,585 metres (8,481 ft). The depth of the cave is 346 metres (1,135 ft). Within the cave, 15 species have been discovered.[3]

The south wall is considered the highest rock face of the Balkan peninsula and in the summer of 2010 was a tourist hotspot for the first time by a majority of tourists coming from Germany, especially big wall climbers throughout Europe.

The name Harapi from Albanian to English can be translated as dark or Arabs.[2]

References
  1. "Maja e Arapit, Geoquest Kletterführer" (PDF). Geoquest Verlag. 2010-08-00. Retrieved 2010-09-03. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. Christian Zindel; Barbara Hausamann (2008), Wanderführer Nordalbanien – Thethi und Kelmend (in German), München: Huber Verlag, ISBN 978-3-940686-19-0
  3. "International Caving Expedition Maja Arapit 2009". 2010-08-00. Retrieved 2012-06-12. Check date values in: |date= (help)
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