The Inland Sea, sometimes called Qawra in
Maltese and also known as Dwejra, is a
lagoon
A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...
of seawater on the island of
Gozo
Gozo ( ), known in classical antiquity, antiquity as Gaulos, is an island in the Malta#The Maltese archipelago, Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After the Malta Island, island of Malta ...
linked to the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
through an opening formed by a narrow
natural arch
A natural arch, natural bridge, or (less commonly) rock arch is a natural landform where an arch has formed with an opening underneath. Natural arches commonly form where inland cliffs, Cliffed coast, coastal cliffs, Fin (geology), fins or Stack ...
.
It was probably formed where a
geological fault in the
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
had created a
sea cave
A sea cave, is also known as a littoral cave, a type of cave formed primarily by the wave action of the sea. The primary process involved is erosion. Sea caves are found throughout the world, actively forming along present coastlines and as re ...
and the roof then collapsed.
On one side there is a gently shelving stony beach with several fishermen's huts.
The boats are often pulled up on to the stony beach. The bottom of the lagoon is also mostly pebbles and rocks and is fairly shallow. Exiting through the tunnel towards open sea, the floor drops away in a series of shelves to a depth of up to 35 meters on the outside. It is reported that
Jacques Cousteau
Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful open-circuit self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA), called the ...
said the Inland Sea was among his top ten
dives.
[Guides, Rough. Pocket Rough Guide Malta & Gozo (Travel Guide EBook). United Kingdom, Apa Publications, 2020.]
On calm days
fishing boat
A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish and other valuable nektonic aquatic animals (e.g. shrimps/prawns, krills, coleoids, etc.) in the sea, lake or river. Humans have used different kinds of surface vessels in commercial, arti ...
s, known in Maltese as
luzzijiet, can pass through the tunnel. Some of the boats are used to take visitors through the archway and then for a tour of the nearby cliffs and other sites, mainly to the
Fungus Rock and to the site of the former large natural arch in the cliffs called the
Azure Window.
References
External links
Inland Sea, Gozo*
{{Recreational dive sites, reesit
Bodies of water of Malta
Natural arches of Malta
San Lawrenz
Underwater diving sites in Malta
Lagoons of Europe