Many islands of the Mediterranean Sea are full of mysteries. Until now, scientists have not been able to solve all the secrets. Entire civilizations lived and disappeared on them, whose everyday objects archaeologists dig up at the present time.
It is very difficult to count all the islands in this sea. In total there are more than several thousand. For example, only those that belong to Greece administratively are around 1,400. Most of these islands are uninhabited land areas with rocky terrain. Also in the Mediterranean Sea there are those that relate to Italy, Spain, France and other countries. For example, the islands of Malta. After all, this is not only Comino, Filfla, Cominotto. All of them together form a large archipelago, which includes hundreds of islands of various sizes, some of which are even uninhabited.
Currently, the islands of the Mediterranean Sea, or rather most of them, are the most famous resorts. Every year a large number of tourists come to these places. Why are they so popular? But the answer to this question lies on the surface. The unique climate, clean sea coast, a large number of convenient beaches - all this contributes to the development of tourism.
Large islands of the Mediterranean: list
More than 100 islands in the Mediterranean Sea have an area of more than 10 square kilometers. About forty of them have a population of over 10,000. Let's look at the largest of them.
- Sicily. Country: Italy. The area of the island is more than 25 thousand km 2 . Largest city: Palermo. Population: over 5 million people.
- Sardinia Country: Italy. Area: almost 24,000 km 2 . Largest city: Cagliari. Population: over 1.6 million people.
- Cyprus. Country: Republic of Cyprus, Great Britain, Northern Cyprus. Area: 9.2 thousand km 2 . Largest city: Nicosia. Population: almost 1.1 million people.
- Corsica The island is a territorial unit of France. Area: almost 9000 km 2 . Largest city: Ajaccio. Population: 302,000
- Crete. Country: Greece. Area: more than 8.3 thousand km 2 . Largest city: Heraklion. The population of the island: about 622,000 people.
- Euboea. Country: Greece. Area: almost 3.7 thousand km 2 . Largest city: Chalkida. The population of the island: about 200,000 people.
- Mallorca. Country: Spain. Area: 3.6 thousand km 2 . The largest city is Palma de Mallorca. The population of the island: about 869,000 people.
- Lesbos. Country: Greece. Area: 1632 km 2 . Largest city: Mytilene. Population: more than 90,000 people.
- Rhodes. Country: Greece. Area: 1.4 thousand km 2 . Largest city: Rhodes. Population: more than 117,000 people.
- Chios. Country: Greece. Area: 842 km 2 . Largest city: Chios. Population: almost 54,000 people.
Sicily
The island of Sicily (Italy) is the largest in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located near the Apennine Peninsula (south direction). It has a triangular shape. Convenient bays are located on the east and northwest sides. The coastline has a length of about one thousand kilometers. The relief is mostly hilly, mountain formations prevail. The banks are steep, slightly cut. In Sicily is the volcano Etna. In height, it exceeds the mark of 3.3 thousand meters. In Europe is the most active.
The climate on the island is Mediterranean. Winter is short and warm. The temperature never drops below 0 degrees. The average value is considered to be a mark of +11 ° C. The greatest amount of precipitation falls on the period from October to March. Summer is hot, average temperature is +27 ... +30 ° .
The island is mainly dominated by artisanal vegetation. Forests here occupy less than 4% of the territory. They mainly grow on the mountain slopes.
Sardinia
Describing the large islands of the Mediterranean Sea, you can not keep silent about Sardinia. Administratively, the island belongs to Italy. It has 8 provinces. Sardinia is located next to the island of Corsica. They are separated by the Strait of Bonifacio. On the east side, the coastline is represented by steep rock formations. The relief is mostly mountainous. On the western side of the coast are low.
The climate in Sardinia is subtropical. The rainy season is in the winter. In January, a significant cooling. The temperature in this period drops to + 7 ... + 10 ° . The heat peak is in July. The average temperature of this month is considered to be a mark of +26 ° C.
Cyprus
If you look at the map the geographical position of this island of the Mediterranean Sea, you can see that it belongs to Asia. Its coordinates: 35 ° 10′00 ″ s. w. 33 ° 21′00 ″ c. The village of Cyprus is located in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, second only in size to two islands - Sardinia and Sicily. It has a length of 240 km and its width is 100 km. Administratively, the island belongs to three states: more than half is controlled by the Republic of Cyprus, about 30% belongs to partially recognized Northern Cyprus, approximately 7% is divided between the UK and the UN buffer zone.
The prevailing relief is mountainous. The Kyrenia chain extends from the north side, and the Troodos massif in the southwestern part. The climate in Cyprus is Mediterranean. The temperature in winter days can reach +20 ° C, and at night it drops to 5-12 ° C. In the summer season, very intense heat is recorded. Temperature during the day rises to +40 ° C, at night it decreases by 5-10 degrees. Cyprus has a very rich wildlife. Mouflons, chameleons, lizards, snakes and others live here.
Corsica
Corsica is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean. Its history goes back over 250 million years. The relief is mountainous. The shape of the island stretches from south to north. The length of the coastline, on which there are numerous beaches, exceeds the mark of 1000 km. Its length is 183 km, its width is 83 km. Mountain formations occupy 3/4 of the entire territory. The island is rich in inland water resources, which are represented by rivers, springs and streams.
The climate in Corsica is changing from marine to alpine. Precipitation here is insignificant. In January, the average temperature reaches +14 ° . In early summer, it rises to +21 ° , and in July it exceeds the +36 ° mark. In this area, the water in the sea warms up to a comfortable temperature of +26 ° C.