Many Mediterranean islands are full of mysteries. Until now, scientists have not been able to unravel all the mysteries. Entire civilizations lived and disappeared on them, the household items of which archaeologists are digging up at the present time.
Counting all the islands in this sea is very difficult. In total there are more than several thousand of them. For example, only those that are administratively part of Greece, about 1400. Most of these islands are uninhabited land areas with rocky terrain. Also in the Mediterranean there are those that belong to Italy, Spain, France and other countries. For example, the islands of M alta. After all, this is not only Comino, Filfla, Cominotto. All of them together form a large archipelago, which includes hundreds of islands of different sizes, some of which are even uninhabited.
Currently, the Mediterranean islands, 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 comfortable beaches - all this is the maximumcontributes to the development of tourism.
Large Mediterranean islands: list
More than 100 islands in the Mediterranean have an area of more than 10 square kilometers. Approximately forty of them have a population of over 10,000 people. Let's take a look at the biggest ones.
- Sicily. Country: Italy. The area of the island is more than 25 thousand km2. Largest city: Palermo. Population: over 5 million people.
- Sardinia. Country: Italy. Area: almost 24,000 km2. Largest city: Cagliari. Population: over 1.6 million.
- Cyprus. Country: Republic of Cyprus, Great Britain, Northern Cyprus. Area: 9.2 thousand km2. Largest city: Nicosia. Population: Nearly 1.1 million.
- Corsica. The island is a territorial unit of France. Area: almost 9000 km2. Largest city: Ajaccio. Population: 302,000.
- Crit. Country: Greece. Area: more than 8.3 thousand km2. Largest city: Heraklion. Island population: about 622,000 people.
- Evia. Country: Greece. Area: almost 3.7 thousand km2. Largest city: Chalkis. Island population: about 200,000 people.
- Mallorca. Country: Spain. Area: 3.6 thousand km2. The largest city is Palma de Mallorca. Island population: about 869,000 people.
- Lesbos. Country: Greece. Area: 1632 km2. Largest city: Mytilini. Population: over 90,000.
- Rhodes. Country: Greece. Area: 1.4 thousand km2. Largest city: Rhodes. Population: over117,000 people.
- Chios. Country: Greece. Area: 842 km2. Largest city: Chios. Population: almost 54,000 people.
Sicily
The island of Sicily (Italy) is the largest in the Mediterranean. It is located near the Apennine Peninsula (south direction). Has a triangular shape. Convenient bays are located on the eastern and northwestern sides. The coastline has a length of about one thousand kilometers. The relief is predominantly hilly, dominated by mountain formations. The banks are steep and slightly indented. Mount Etna is located in Sicily. 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 indicator is a mark of +11 ° С. The greatest amount of precipitation falls on the period from October to March. Summer is hot, the average temperature is +27… +30 °С.
The island is dominated by artisanal vegetation. Forests here occupy the territory of less than 4%. They mainly grow on mountain slopes.
Sardinia
Describing the large islands of the Mediterranean, one cannot remain 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 from each other by the Strait of Bonifacio. On the east side, the coastline is represented by steep rocky formations. The relief is predominantly mountainous. On the western side, the shores are low.
Climatesubtropical in Sardinia. The rainy season is in winter. In January, there is a significant cooling. The temperature during this period drops to +7…+10 °C. The peak of the heat is in July. The average temperature of this month is +26 °С.
Cyprus
If you look at the geographical position of this Mediterranean island on the map, you can see that it belongs to Asia. Its coordinates: 35°10'00″ s. sh. 33°21'00″ E e. Cyprus is located in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, second in size only 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 the partially recognized Northern Cyprus, approximately 7% is divided between the UK and the UN buffer zone.
The prevailing relief here is mountainous. On the northern side stretches the Kyrenia chain, and in the southwestern part - the Troodos massif. 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. The temperature during the day rises to +40 ° C, at night it drops 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 terrain here is mountainous. The shape of the island is elongated from south to north. Lengthcoastline, on which there are numerous beaches, exceeds the mark of 1000 km. Its length is 183 km, 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 varies from maritime to highland. Precipitation here is negligible. In January, the average temperature reaches +14 °C. At the beginning of summer, it rises to +21 °С, and in July it exceeds +36 °С. In this area, the water in the sea warms up to a comfortable temperature of +26 °С.
