The valley and river of Vjosa are one of the most wonderful coastal ecosystems in the Balkans, remarkable for their natural hydromorphodynamic river processes.

They represent important reference points for the hydro-morphological characterization of the Balkan rivers and the processes resulting from the formation of the landscape. The channel pattern shows significant differences along the length of the river in Albania.

In the upper part, Vjosa follows a sequence of canyons between Përmet, Kelcyra and Dragot, inserted into gorges intersected by areas of cones and large alluvial islands. After Dragot, the river valley widens, narrowing only at the gorges of Kalivaç and Poçem. Near the town of Tepelena and around the confluence with the Drino River, the river landscape is notable for the large flow of gravel and sand formed by the braided river. The slope of the river basin decreases after Selenica; the valley widens and the river begins to meander. While floods in the upper and middle reaches of higher gradients are brief, they involve the lower Vjosa for several weeks. As mentioned, river bed floods regularly cover the entire active channel and are responsible for channel displacement and regrowth of new vegetation on the reaches and gravel islands. Regular but less frequent floods (floods all >1-5 years) are of great importance for ecological conditions in low floodplains. They form and give shape to the flood plains adjacent to the active channel and on the main islands. Willow scrub and poplar, upstream and sycamore provide the initial vegetation, often stabilizing the land at least until the next major flood. In the higher areas of the active floodplain (floods over 5-30 years), only remnants of floodplain forests, mainly poplars, are found. Most of these forests were converted to agricultural land over the years. In the remaining morphological floodplain (floods all >30-300 years) numerous settlements and urban infrastructure can be found.