Chapter 2 The Methodology of the Study Pranvera Lazo, Flora Qarri, Shaniko Allajbeu, Sonila Kane, Lirim Bekteshi, Marina Frontasyeva, and Trajce Stafilov 2.1 An Overview of the Study Area Albania is a small country with an area of 28,748 sq km positioned in south-east Europe and in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula. It is bordered with the Adriatic and Ionian seas in the West (Fig. 2.1) with a coastline of 362 km long, and a land border of only 720 km long. With an average altitude of 700 m above the sea, it is mostly characterized by mountainous landscape which is intersected by the valleys of seven rivers running from the east to the west of Albania and discharged to the Adriatic Sea. Albania is characterized by Mediterranean climate in the West and Mediterranean-continental climate in the East. The average annual rainfall is about 1430 mm. The soil morphology of Albanian is linked with the geology of the area. The diversity in geological formations had conditioned different minerals and ore deposits in Albania. It is characterized by a complex diversity of geologic setting and soil geochemistry that are affected by different contamination inputs. Chromium, copper, ferro-chromium, nickel-ferrous, nickel-silicate ores, and petroleum are the dominant minerals of Albania. Beside these main minerals, there are alluvial deposits of heavy sand, containing Zr and REE, as well as rutile and ilmenite (Milushi 2015). The area is divided in two different mineralogical settings distinguished by different minerals. Internal tectonic zone, extended as a belt from the north to the south-east part of Albania is distinguished by a high potential of Cr, Ni, Fe and Cu minerals. The External tectonic zone, positioned along the coastal areas of Adriatic and Ionian Sea in the west, is rich in fossil fuels deposits and carbonate settings. The industrial sites with old technology, such as mining, mineral beneficiations, smelting and refining complexes (chromium, copper, iron ore, etc.), the Elbasan iron and steel plant, petroleum refineries, lignite-fired thermal electric power stations, and chemical plants had caused serious environmental pollution in the country (UNDP-Albania 2010). © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 P. Lazo et al., The Evaluation of Air Quality in Albania by Moss Biomonitoring and Metals Atmospheric Deposition, SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62355-5_2 9