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Filfla
Filfla is a small, mostly barren, uninhabited islet south of Malta, and is the most southerly point of the Maltese Archipelago. ''filflu'' (or ''filfluu''), a small rocky islet some southwest of Filfla,"Topography and Flora of the Satellite islets surrounding the Maltese Archipelago" - Arnold Sciberras, Jeffrey Sciberras, 2010 has the southernmost point of Malta. The name is believed to come from ''felfel'', the |
Islet
An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanent or tidal (i.e. surfaced reef or seamount); and may exist in the sea, lakes, rivers or any other sizeable bodies of water. Definition As suggested by its origin ''islette'', an Old French diminutive of "isle", use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability. The World Landforms website says, "An islet landform is generally considered to be a rock or small island that has little vegetation and cannot sustain human habitation", and further that size may vary from a few square feet to several square miles, with no specific rule pertaining to size. Other terms * Ait (/eɪt/, like eight) or eyot (/aɪ(ə)t, eɪt/), a small island. It is especially used to refer to river i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Storm Petrel
The European storm petrel, British storm petrel, or just storm petrel (''Hydrobates pelagicus'') is a seabird in the northern storm petrel family, Hydrobatidae. The small, square-tailed bird is entirely black except for a broad, white rump and a white band on the under wings, and it has a fluttering, bat-like flight. The large majority of the population breeds on islands off the coasts of Europe, with the greatest numbers in the Faroe Islands, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Iceland. The Mediterranean population is a separate subspecies, but is inseparable at sea from its Atlantic relatives; its strongholds are Filfla Island (Malta), Sicily, and the Balearic Islands. The storm petrel nests in crevices and burrows, sometimes shared with other seabirds or rabbits, and lays a single white egg, usually on bare soil. The adults share the lengthy egg incubation, incubation and both feed the chick, which is not normally brooded after the first week. This bird is strongly bird migration, m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Podarcis Filfolensis
The filfola lizard or Maltese wall lizard (''Podarcis filfolensis'') is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. It is found in Italy (in the Pelagian Islands) and in the island group of Malta. Its natural habitats are Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rocky areas, rocky shores, arable land, pastureland, and rural gardens. ''P. filfolensis'' in Malta In the Maltese Islands, there are four subspecies of the Maltese wall lizard, all of which are endemic there. ''Podarcis filfolensis'' ssp. ''maltensis'' This subspecies is found on the three main islands: Malta, Gozo and Comino. It is normally greenish and sometimes speckled.Wildlife of the Maltese Islands, BirdLife Malta and Nature Trust, 1995 ''Podarcis filfolensis'' ssp. ''filfolensis'' This subspecies is endemic to the islet of Filfla just off the coast of Malta. It is the largest of the four subspecies and is blackish with bluish spots. ''Podarcis filfolensis'' ssp. ''kieselbachi'' This subspecies is end ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seismic Risk In Malta
Seismic risk in Malta is considered to be low with little historic damage noted and no known victims. The archipelago is however in a potentially significant seismic zone and the risk to the population is probably undervalued. Tectonics The Maltese Archipelago rests on an underwater plateau, a relatively stable part of the African Plate. The islands are situated around 200 km to the south of the subduction fault between the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate. The pelagic plate forms a shallow platform separating the Ionian basin from the Western Mediterranean Basin, situated roughly under the Strait of Sicily. The plate is crossed by a rift zone formed of three grabens: the Pantelleria graben, that of Malta, and that of Linosa. These grabens are linked by a system of north–south orientation faults (sometimes west–east) with dextral cavities that are responsible for most of the earthquakes that can affect the archipelago. The islands themselves are made up of limest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lampedusa Imitatrix
''Lampedusa imitatrix'' (common name: Maltese door-snail) is a species of small, very elongate, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Clausiliidae, the door snails, all of which have a clausilium. This species is endemic to Malta. The population on the islet of Filfla might be a subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ... or a species in its own right. References Lampedusa (gastropod) Endemic fauna of Malta Molluscs of Europe Gastropods described in 1879 Taxa named by Oskar Boettger Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Clausiliidae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malta (island)
Malta is the largest of the three major islands that constitute the Maltese archipelago. It is sometimes referred to as Valletta for statistical purposes to distinguish the main island from the Malta, entire country. Malta is in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea directly south of Italy and north of Libya. The island is long and wide, with a total area of . The capital is Valletta, while the largest locality is Rabat, Malta, Rabat. The island is made up of many small towns, which together form one Larger Urban Zones, larger urban zone with a population of 409,259. The landscape is characterised by low hills with terraced fields. History Humans have inhabited Malta since about 5200 BC, when stone age hunters or farmers arrived from Sicily. Early Neolithic settlements were discovered in open areas and also in caves, such as Għar Dalam. Around 3500 BC, a culture of megalithic temple builders then either supplanted or arose. They built some of the oldest existing, free-standing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dingli Cliffs
Dingli ( mt, Ħad-Dingli) is a village in the Northern Region of Malta, with a population of 3,865 as of 2021. It is from the capital Valletta and two kilometers () from the nearest town, Rabat. The village lies on a plateau some 250 metres above sea level, which is one of the highest points of Malta. The area provides not only open sea views over the tiny, uninhabited isle of Filfla, but is also a good vantage point over Malta. From the cliffs there are also views of the nearby Buskett Gardens and Verdala Palace. The Cliffs were also the site of the mysterious death of Mike Mansholt. Etymology The name ''Dingli'' is believed to be derived from the name of Sir Thomas Dingley, an English knight of the Order of St. John, who owned much of the lands in the surrounding area. History Rock-cut tombs dating back to Phoenician, Carthaginian and Roman times have been found in the limits of Dingli. Roman baths and other remains were also found at Għajn Handful and the area of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maltese Islands
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies south of Sicily (Italy), east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The official languages are Maltese and English, and 66% of the current Maltese population is at least conversational in the Italian language. Malta has been inhabited since approximately 5900 BC. Its location in the centre of the Mediterranean has historically given it great strategic importance as a naval base, with a succession of powers having contested and ruled the islands, including the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese, Knights of St. John, French, and British, amongst others. With a population of about 516,000 over an area of , Malta is the world's tenth-smallest country in area and fourth most densely populated sovereign cou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies south of Sicily (Italy), east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The official languages are Maltese and English, and 66% of the current Maltese population is at least conversational in the Italian language. Malta has been inhabited since approximately 5900 BC. Its location in the centre of the Mediterranean has historically given it great strategic importance as a naval base, with a succession of powers having contested and ruled the islands, including the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese, Knights of St. John, French, and British, amongst others. With a population of about 516,000 over an area of , Malta is the world's tenth-smallest country in area and fourth most densely populated sovereign cou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Pepper
Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diameter (fresh and fully mature), dark red, and contains a stone which encloses a single pepper seed. Peppercorns and the ground pepper derived from them may be described simply as ''pepper'', or more precisely as ''black pepper'' (cooked and dried unripe fruit), ''green pepper'' (dried unripe fruit), or ''white pepper'' (ripe fruit seeds). Black pepper is native to the Malabar Coast of India, and the Malabar pepper is extensively cultivated there and in other tropical regions. Ground, dried, and cooked peppercorns have been used since antiquity, both for flavour and as a traditional medicine. Black pepper is the world's most traded spice, and is one of the most common spices added to cuisines around the world. Its spiciness is due to the ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mnajdra
Mnajdra ( mt, L-Imnajdra) is a megalithic temple complex found on the southern coast of the Mediterranean island of Malta. Mnajdra is approximately from the Ħaġar Qim megalithic complex. Mnajdra was built around the fourth millennium BCE; the Megalithic Temples of Malta are among the most ancient religious sites on Earth, described by the World Heritage Sites committee as "unique architectural masterpieces." In 1992 UNESCO recognized the Mnajdra complex and four other Maltese megalithic structures as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In 2009 work was completed on a protective tent. Design Mnajdra is made of coralline limestone, which is much harder than the soft globigerina limestone of Ħaġar Qim. The main structural systems used in the temples are corbelling with smaller stones, and post and lintel construction using large slabs of limestone. The cloverleaf plan of Mnajdra appears more regular than that of Ħagar Qim, and seems reminiscent of the earlier complex at G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Continental Shelf
A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island is known as an ''insular shelf''. The continental margin, between the continental shelf and the abyssal plain, comprises a steep continental slope, surrounded by the flatter continental rise, in which sediment from the continent above cascades down the slope and accumulates as a pile of sediment at the base of the slope. Extending as far as 500 km (310 mi) from the slope, it consists of thick sediments deposited by turbidity currents from the shelf and slope. The continental rise's gradient is intermediate between the gradients of the slope and the shelf. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the name continental shelf was given a legal definition as the stretch of the seabed adjacent to the shores of a par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Dingli Cliffs")
